Time: Torn Future
by Captain Wolf
Summary: Espeon didn't know much about the real world in her secluded life, but when she receives a mysterious vision she wants to do something about it. She sets out on a quest with friends to aid her and enemies bent on stopping her. 'Time Trilogy part 1 of 3'
1. Prologue: A Grim Future

Okay, I started Torn Future (the first in a three part series) shortly after I joined FanFiction, a little over a year ago. I have gone back to edit chapters and still do so every once in a while, so hopefully it will be in better condition them when it was first posted. With that said, I hope you enjoy the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon.

(RE)EDITED

* * *

Espeon sighed and withdrew into her mind. This wasn't new: it was routine. It happened every day. The Sapphire City Police Department would suspect someone was going to do something, _anything_, bad. Rob a bank, commit murder, or anything else against that law of theirs. Then they would come to Espeon for confirmation. She could see into the future, after all.

Espeon's fur bristled as the rust of the metal cage beneath her melted into a sky view of the city. She gazed downward, and felt strangely sad. The city was normal, there was nothing special about it, but to someone who rarely saw the sky, it was beautiful.

The person she was looking for went by the name of Daniel Griffith. He lived at the orphanage in the middle of town. _They want me to investigate an orphan? _she wondered. She zoomed into a view of the home. It didn't look like bad living conditions. It was a sleek two-story building, and looked clean enough.

_He's not here now_, she thought, _let's fast-forward a few hours._

The the scene rippled like water as Espeon saw what would happen in a few hours time. She saw Daniel, a blue-eyed, black-haired boy, walking toward the orphanage. He only looked about fourteen, and he didn't look like he was plotting anything. A look of confusion came across her face. They had said to look for strange behavior. There was nothing strange about a kid walking home from school. She took a brief look into his day. He looked clean. What did they want with…? What?

Espeon gasped as the birds eye view of the city disappeared from under her with a screeching sound and was replaced with another image. Espeon looked down. Yikes! She jumped up into a standing position. She was standing on water. A huge, vast ocean of water. A huge red sun stood close to the horizon, dying everything it touched red, even the water... or was it the sun? Espeon lifted her paw and gave a cry as she saw that this wasn't water, it was blood. She cried louder as a humongous Garados drifted to the surface, but it wouldn't attack. It was dead. All sound seemed to drain from the world save for the lighting fast beat of her heart.

Okay, an ocean of blood, a dead Garados, complete silence. Time to go.

_Get me out of here,_ Espeon pleaded to no one in particular, _please!_

The ground rippled once more and the view changed again. The blood melted into clear blue water and the sun shrank and became a bright yellow. Espeon let out the breath she had been holding and relaxed, her shoulders sagging slightly. She liked this view. The whole place seemed peaceful. As she watched the water a Milotic glided under her. As she stood there, her heart rate slowing and her breath growing deeper and more even, she wondered what it all meant. This had never happened before.

Was this the future? Then she calmed down. This was a peaceful place. Open, clean, pure. She hadn't been outside in a long time. It was only an vision, but she swore she could breath easier.

But the red ocean still haunted her. _What was going on?_


	2. Espeon's Personal Guard Dog

Okay, the time kind of switches in this chapter. Hopefully it's not too confusing.

Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon

(RE)EDITED

* * *

Espeon made her decision shortly after her vision. She wasn't going to work. 

Now it may appear obvious to you that when you get sick of being forced unfairly to do something you don't want to you stop doing it, but this was about the boldest decision of Espeon's life. She wasn't used to making her own choices. After all, she didn't know how to take care of herself. But after seeing _that_, well, she was a bit scared silly.

They (as in "the people who made Espeon work for them") didn't take the hint, and after a week, Espeon had had enough. She was getting out of here. Something she was looking forward too, and something she dreaded at the same time..

At first, she tried to deny it. She scratched at the floor of the cage. She bit at the black iron bars, but she was just stalling. She new she couldn't get out without using her psychic powers. The thing was, she was terrified of using her powers. She had long since abandoned using any power besides seeing into the future. She tried calming exercises.

_All right Espeon,_ she thought, _deep, even, breaths_.

It wasn't really helping.

In her mind, Espeon pictured the bars and roof of the cage lifting and drifting away. She opened one eye cautiously. To her surprise, they _were_ separating. Espeon gasped and lost her concentration. The bars clattered to the floor. The roof banged onto her head.

_Ow_! thought Espeon, momentarily paralyzed my shock and pain.

She heard shouts from the hallway.

_So much for a sly getaway,_ she thought, jumping out of the pile of ruble that had once held her prisoner, only to slip on the smooth tile floor.

She scrambled to her feet and into the hallway, between the legs of the closest policeman, and through random doorways.

_Which way?_ Thought Espeon, panicking. This didn't seem like such a good idea anymore. She should've planned this out more carefully. Maybe they'd let her go back to her cage without being too angry if she just stopped now.

"There she is!" a voice cried behind her. Her heart skipped a beat. Oh no! They were already upset!

Espeon bolted right, then left, then forward, or was she backtracking? She had to get out before they used common sense and got some sort of machine to catch her.

Finally! The door to outside! Well, it appeared to be.

She came to a halt.

Okay, she only had to use her powers one more time…

The door swung open, and she was hit with a blast of cold air.

Yes! She hadn't had a thrill like this in a long time. Her heart was beating fast again, but it was a different feeling than from that terrifying scene of red. It was the mind-clearing, get-your-butt-out-of-there feeling.

More shouts from behind her.

_Not today!_ She thought. She rounded a corner, barely dodging an electric net that had been fired her way.

She lost them in an ally some miles later, where Espeon collapsed, panting. She hadn't used that much energy in... forever. She decided that she needed a regular workout schedule.

_What now?_ She thought. The rush was dying down, and surely they couldn't have completely given up the chase. She needed to find a hiding place, now, but where...?

A sharp pain in her tail interrupted her thoughts.

"Ow!" She yelped

She turned her head sharply to see a Growlithe pup, his teeth firmly planted in one of her tails. His fur was matted and dirty, but he had a big smile on his face. He looked like he had just one the lottery.

He let go of her tail.

"Play!" he barked.

Espeon was too tired to be angry with him.

"No play," she said, trying to be firm, "Sleep."

"Sleep?" he asked, his head cocked slightly to one side, "Sleep!"

He ran next to her and curled up to her side.

"Sleep together!" he said.

Espeon got up and shook him off.

"Um, what do you want?" she asked, confused. She had never met someone like this before.

"Growlie can't be your friend?" he asked, sounding hurt.

Espeon sighed. How was she supposed to handle this? Espeon wasn't familiar with the term "friend".

"Look, Growlie, is it?" she said gently, "I'm... I'm sorry, but I... I have to do something, and you can't..." Espeon drifted off. What was it that she had to do? _Find out about the vision_, the logical voice in her head told her. She paused, realizing that this was the first time she had actually admitted this to herself and pondering what that meant.

"Growlie, can help!" he insisted, "Just tell Growlie what to do!"

"People are after me, Growlie, you could get hurt," Espeon made a feeble attempt to scare him off.

"Growlie isn't scared!" he said, puffing out his chest, "He'll tear them to shreds!"

Espeon gave up. She curled into a ball and closed her eyes. The ground was cold, but she supposed it was how pokemon lived when they were wild, so she would get used to it.

"Ow!" she snapped as Growlie's teeth sank into her ear.

"Growlie!" Espeon snapped, a little too harshly.

Growlie backed up and hung his head, his tail tucked tightly beneath his legs.

"Growlie will stop," he said quietly.

"I'm sorry," Espeon said quickly, "I didn't mean to be so..."

"Um," started Growlie hesitantly.

"What?" snapped Espeon.

"Growlie's cold," he said.

Espeon looked at the small puppy. He was just as scared and alone as she was. Her hearts sank as she looked into the puppies teary eyes. He'd probably start crying if she yelled at him again.

"Oh, all right," she said.

Growlie yipped happily and snuggled down next to Espeon.

Despite herself, Espeon did think the pup, being a fire type, was very warm.

She settled down and closed her eyes, and for a moment forgot all her troubles.


	3. Feeling Adventurous

Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon.

(RE)EDITED

* * *

Espeon woke up the next morning feeling unusually warm. She looked down at the sleeping Growlithe pup by her side, and was truely gald he was there. This put her in better spirits than it had yesterday. 

At her movement, Growlie woke up. He jumped up, yawned quickly, and turned, tail wagging, towards Espeon.

"Growlie's new friend is awake!" he yipped happily.

Espeon thought about his statement. She wasn't used to being called a friend.

"You mean it?" she asked.

"Yes yes!" said Growlie, tongue hanging from his mouth, "Is Growlie's friend hungry?"

"It's Espeon, but yes, I'm starving," Espeon replied.

"Growlie knows where food is! He'll show his new friend!"

"Thank you Growlie, but there are people after me," she suddenly felt uneasy, "They'll catch me if I'm out in the open."

"Growlie won't let them take his friend away! Growlie will protect you!"

"Thanks Growlie, but the police men are pretty strong…" In Espeon's state of mind, a small Growlithe puppy didn't stand a chance against any government official.

"Police men? Growlie can smell hem a mile away! He can warn you!" Then he added quietly, with a michevious look on his face, "They smell like doughnuts!"

That helped a little. And he was right, they _did_ smell like doughnuts. Growlie could be her personal alarm. He could warn her when there was trouble.

"All right Growlie," she said, "Lead the way."

And so it went on for a week more. Espeon lived with Growlie, who knew all of the best places to hide whenever trouble came and where all the good food was. Espeon found herself wishing she could just stay here peacefully, even if she found herself getting a little thinner, but thevidion of the future was always bothering her, always just around the corner...

Espeon woke with a start. Her heart was beating like she had run a marathon, and she was gasping for air.

_Great, another dream about it,_ she thought grudgingly. When would this stop? She looked at the little red ball of fur next to her. Growlie slept peacefully. Lucky him. But she couldn't take it any more, she had to do something. She had to find out about the vision. It just kept haunting her. She looked again at Growlie; he was so young. She couldn't just drag him into this. She quietly got up, but Growlie had too good of hearing.

"Espeon?" came his young voice.

Espeon's heart sank.

"Espeon? What's wrong?" he asked again.

"Uh, nothing's wrong Growlie," said Espeon uncertainly, then more forceful, "Just go back to sleep."

"Yes, something is wrong!" shouted Growlie, a little too loudly in the quiet night, "Why is Growlie's new friend going away?" Espeon sighed.

"Remember when I said there was something I have to do, Growlie?"

"Yes," the little pokemon answered.

"Well, I don't want you to get hurt because of it…"

"Growlie won't get hurt! If it weren't for him, Espeon would have been captured!" The pup persisted. Of course, he was right. If it weren't for Growlie's nose and ears, Espeon would have been caught ten times over.

"But Growlie, I just don't see…"

"Growlie can help! Just tell him what to do." He always repeated this.

"I need to go back to the government building and get some answers," well, might as well be straightforward with it, "They have to know something." Growlie's eyes widened.

"But you can't! You just got away!"

"Growlie, I have to. If I don't, I'll spend my whole life wondering about it."

"But… Let Growlie help!" this puppy was not giving up.

"Growlie, it's too dangerous." Espeon said more sternly.

"But, Growlie knows someone who can get in and out of that building! Someone who can help!"

"You do?" asked Espeon, blinking.

Growlie paused, as if unsure why he was talking. He put his head down and began licking his paw nervously.

"Growlie?" asked Espeon.

"Well, Growlie wasn't supposed to tell anyone," he admitted sheepishly.

"Why not?" asked Espeon

"Oh!" said Growlie, troubled, pacing back and forth, "Wasn't supposed to tell anyone…"

"Growlie, your fine," coaxed Espeon, "Now are you going to tell me about this someone, or can I go?"

Growlie growled and headed towards the entrance of their hole of the little cave Espeon had come to know as home.

"Is Espeon coming?" said Growlie. He sounded agitated.

"Coming," said Espeon, "It's okay, Growlie," trying to calm him wasn't working.

Growlie led the way through winding allies and turns until Espeon was sure she couldn't find her way back for her life. She wondered if this was such a good idea after all.

"Growlie, where are we going?" Espeon asked uneasily. What wasn't Growlie supposed to tell anyone?

"In here," said Growlie. He made his way to a small opening that led under a building, like the one where they had been staying. Except this one was a lot bigger. He had been getting more and more agitated the whole trip. Espeon hoped he was okay. He gave her a quick smile and went into it. Was it Espeon's safety he was worrying about, or his?

She swallowed and followed him down.

The hole was dark. She soon lost sight of Growlie.

"Growlie?" she asked. For the fifth time she bumped into a hard stone wall, "Growlie?"

She caught sight of a bright light and moved towards it as fast as she could in the cramped hole. As she emerged into a large room filled with dim light, she ran into Growlie, who was standing before a girl. An alarm went off in Espeon's head. _Human! Run away!_ However, Growlie didn't seem scared at all. In fact, he turned to her and smiled.

"Maddy says she'll help!" he said.

Espeon could just stare. This was the someone who could make it into the building and out again? The girl turned to Espeon.

She was tall, or maybe it just seemed so because of how she towered over Espeon. Her multi-pocketed, tan overcoat covered most of her body, so the only other part of her that was visible was her black hair, or maybe it was brown. It was hard to see in the light.

"So, Growlie tells me you need some help," she said this with a cocky smile that looked kind of like a smirk on her face. She _seemed_ friendly enough.

"Y- yes," stammered Espeon. Confused was an understatement.

"Well, you've come to the right place," she did a sarcastic bow.

"You can understand me!" Espeon could only gape.

"Yup, it's both a gift and a curse." She spoke with kind of a relaxed accent, but Espeon wondered if there was a meaning behind it. People weren't just born with ability to speak pokemon, were they?

"Growlie helped Maddy escape," piped up the little dog, he seemed cheerfully relieved, "so Maddy said she would help you get anything you want from the humans."

"They haven't caught me yet, and they're not going too," said the girl. There was no doubt about it, she could understand them perfectly, "So what exactly do you need?" she asked.

* * *

Daniel sat in a dark room with blank walls, three chairs, and a single table. He had been sitting there for a half an hour, he confirmed, checking his watch. He played with the blue pencil on the desk, a bored expression on his face. As he was rolling it back and forth, Mr. Harrison came into the room. A man he had known for about a half an hour.

"Hello, Daniel." He said. He looked tired.

"Mr. Harrison, not to sound rude, but for the third time, please call me Danny," the boy said, looking up from his make-shift toy.

"Right, I hear you have had certain impulses to defending pokemon…"

"Impulses?"

"Don't interrupt," Harrison snapped, "Now, what have you been doing for the past twenty-four hours?"

"Why am I here sir?" Danny asked.

"That's not important, just answer the question."

"Well, actually, it does matter…" Danny was very touchy about detail.

"Stop interrupting!"

"I am not interrupting! You had finished talking! And I'm not answering any questions until you tell me why you pulled me out of science class and dragged me here." He glared at Mr. Harrison.

Mr. Harrison stared blankly, as if not sure how to react to Danny being this difficult. The government official sighed.

"You won't answer any questions until then?"

"None," Danny was choosing to be particularly hard to deal with today.

Mr. Harrison set his papers on the desk and got up.

"I'll be right back." He sighed

As soon as the door was shut, Danny dove at the papers. _What the? It's the news article from last week about the Espeon's escape, what's this about? My birth files? Why's the government so interested in me all of a sudden? What's this? Last Wednesday 3:00… This paper is dated four hours before that. They were using the Espeon to spy on me? Then the writing blurs out and a picture forms. That's… blood?_

Danny's mind was running over this information rather quickly._  
_

Danny quickly got up and put his ear to the door as he heard voices behind it. It was Mr. Harrison and another man Danny didn't recognize. Mr. Harrison seemed to be arguing with him.

"But the project is in jeopardy without the Espeon! He has to know something!" a voice shouted.

"We don't know that!" This was Harrison, who sounded much calmer than his accomplice.

"The presses are hot on our tail, and if they find out, so do the pokemon. We can't let that happen. If they want something to tell the world about, we can give them him!"

"But we don't have any proof that he's done anything wrong!"

"He was in that vision Espeon had! He has to have something to do with it!"

"We can't just get rid of an innocent child…"

_Get rid of?_ That didn't sound good. Typically, in a movie, when someone said 'get rid of', they meant 'kill'.

"That's just the point, Harrison! He can't be innocent! Do you think it was just a coincidence that it was while she was watching him that she had this vision that we could just barely record? And then she disappeared. He's dangerous, Harrison!"

"Um, excuse me, sirs," came a new voice from outside.

"What?" snapped the unknown man Danny had come to dislike.

"We found her snooping around the Espeon's old room."

He heard some sort of struggling, undoubtedly the snoop they were talking about.

"What? Just throw her in that room. And call some sort of law enforcement official who specializes in trespassing."

The door was thrown open and a dirty girl dressed over coat was thrown in the room. Barely missing Danny, she turned around and banged her fist on the door.

She shouted some insults I'd rather not repeat, then reached into one of the many pockets of her coat and proceeded to pick the lock.

"What are you doing?" asked Danny.

"What does it look like I'm doing? Picking the lock, stupid," she snapped.

"No, I mean what are you doing here?" Danny tried again.

"Oh, just having a friendly chat with the guards. What about you?" she answered, rolling her eyes.

"They're blabbing about me being in the Espeon's visions…" said Danny without really thinking about it. The girl froze.

"What?" she said, a little shocked. Danny took a deep breath and repeated himself.

"They're blabbing about me…"

"So, you have something to do with Espeon's vision?" Danny inhaled to repeat himself again.

"Then your coming with me," she said.

"What?" asked Danny. But she ignored him, grabbed his arm, and pulled him out the now open door into the hallway.


	4. A Daring Rescue

Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon

(RE)EDITED

* * *

Espeon crept through the hallway to her old room. She looked at the walls, it was so familiar, but it now seemed forbidding. A chill ran through Espeon. She wanted to get out of here as fast as possible. Who's idea was this again?

She entered the room that used to be hers. Her heart dropped as she saw her cage was still there. They hadn't given up looking for her. She shook herself. Get information, leave. That was the plan. She needed to stick to it. If they stayed too long Growlie would really start to worry. She gracefully leapt up onto the chair in front of the single computer in the room. It was one of the most high tech in the building, and it was the one that would have all information on her visions. If anyone here had drawn a conclusion from what she had seen, it would be here. She put her paw on the mouse to awaken the screen. It brimmed to life. Now what?

She looked at the piles of disk next to the computer. What was this? It says future, she told the future, so wouldn't this mean her? Might as well try. _How do these things open? Why do humans get thumbs?_ Right, powers, concentrate. She closed her eyes and pictured the case opening, and the disk going into the slot on the side of the computer. She opened her eyes and the disk was almost in the computer. She pushed it the rest of the way. That wasn't so hard. Why was she afraid of using her powers again? She tried to remember, but everything before the lab seemed fuzzy. Why was that? 

With some effort she pulled herself back to reality. Computer, now. The blurry picture cleared to reveal an old man dressed in a white lab coat. Who was that? The man was speaking, but it was a very fuzzy reception. Just how old was this program? Espeon quieted her thoughts to listen, but she couldn't make out much.

Espeon just stared. What in the world? It didn't have anything to do with what was happening to her, but somehow, she knew this was important. She hit the eject button and put the disk in it's case. She'd keep it, but she'd come here for another reason. 

The alarm sounded. Uh oh, they'd search in here for sure, but she hadn't found what she wanted! A small voice in her head asked: _You haven't?_ Her gaze shifted to the disk. She snatched it up and took off for the exit. 

Outside, Growlie licked his paw nervously. They should be back by now. This shouldn't be taking this long. He shouldn't have let them go. He could have just told Espeon to stay and that it was just a dream. Then she would be okay. He looked at the tall metal building in front of him, then turned away and shook his head. No, Maddy had said to stay here. He couldn't go in. But he was small, he could simply go through that vent, and he could help. _ Fine,_ he told himself, _but the first sign of trouble, and Growlie is out. _

He bent down and squished into the air vent. The thing was small, but he had to keep going, Maddy and Espeon could be in danger. He continued through the vent. This wasn't so bad...

"Ahhhh!" Growlie cried out as he fell down with the bottom of the vent to the basement floor.

"Ow," Growlie whimpered and sat up. He was covered in ouches. He put his paw on his aching head. Ow, his nose hurt too. He whimpered again. He wanted to go home now. To his comfy bed that had a cozy smell. He took a deep breath, and let it out. A jet of flames emerged and set fire to several papers scattered by Growlie's fall. The puppy stared at the dancing flames.

"Cool!" he shouted.

This was fun! He forgot about his aching nose. He put his paw in the fire. The friendly embers licked his paw. It felt nice. It made him feel warm, and most of the pain went away.

All of a sudden, an annoying beeping noise sounded. It hurt Growlie's ears. Water poured from the ceiling, dousing the flame.

"What? No! Stupid water!" Growlie shouted.

"Go away!" he barked at the ceiling, "The fire doesn't like you!"

The water kept falling, no matter how much Growlie barked. He had to save the paper! Then the fire could come back. His head swirled around the room, looking for paper not ruined by water.

There, on the desk! He leapt up and snatched a mouth full. Now he could see the fire later. He hopped down and headed up the dusty steps to the upstairs. He could show Espeon and Maddy the fire. Oh no! There was water upstairs too. He ran towards the exit, eager to save the paper. He came out to the crisp afternoon. He put the paper down on the sidewalk and panted hard. Now he had to wait for his friends.

* * *

"Where are we going?" asked Danny for the fifth time. Maddy ignored him and kept running through the halls. She glanced back, and seeing that the guards weren't in sight, she pulled Danny into a room and out of the hallway.

"Okay, _now_ it's time to answer questions," she said quickly, "I'm Maddy, and we are going out of here. Hey!" she snapped her fingers in front of Danny's face, "I'm answering the questions you have been asking for the past five minutes, you could at least _pretend_ to listen!" But no matter how much she prodded him, he kept starring, and Maddy found out why.

"What in the…" she walked forward and stretched out her hand. She couldn't help but imitate Danny's amazed stare.

A huge pokemon lay asleep in an even larger cage. It had sleek silver and blue skin, perfect for swimming. It had a pair of graceful wings folded at it side, and its breathing was deep and even.

"It's a Lugia," Danny informed her.

"A what?" asked Maddy.

"I've read about them," he said, "They we're supposedly extinct hundreds of years ago, but…"

"They're keeping it captive here," said Maddy bitterly, "Just like Espeon, and no one knows about it."

The door swung open and several police came in. 

"There they are!" someone shouted.

"Come on!" said Danny, heading towards the back exit. Maddy hit the bars of the cage.

"You can't give up!" she shouted, "They can't just keep you here! You have to escape!"

The police started towards them. Danny pulled at Maddy's arm.

"Come on," he said, "We'll come back and save it, but we'll be no use caught!"

Maddy didn't move, she couldn't. She felt like crying. It was like Lugia had cast a spell. The officers were still coming.

"Come on!" said Danny, wrenching the girl from the bars. There was no way they could get out at this rate.

Then the screaching blare of the fire alarms rang in everyone's ears, and water started to pour from the ceiling. The pair took off through the door and was through just as the police realized what was happening.

In a different hallway, Espeon ran as fast as her legs would carry her. Her pursuers, a pair of Houndoom, were hot on her trail. But truly, she had almost given up hope. They were faster than her and they were catching up.

Then the fire alarms went off and water rained down on everyone. The Houndoom whimpered and their pace was cut in half.

Espeon wasn't complaining, after all, she had won this race. She sprinted to the finish line, the door to outside, and was home free, where she met a very relieved puppy.


	5. Of Maps and Stars

(RE)EDITED

Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon

* * *

The odd group of conspirators had made a quick getaway from the scene of the crime. They had run most of the way, although there hadn't been any pursuers. The alarms must've upset the opponent. Now they were a safe distance away and had decided to stop running as they drew closer to Maddy's home. As they made their way through the ally Growlie eagerly told them about the fire. 

"So, you were the reason the alarms went off?" Maddy shook her head in disbelief.

"Sorry," said Growlie, hanging his head, "You told Growlie to stay."

"No, Growlie, if you ever have one of these weird impulses again, follow it. They're turning out to be pretty lucky," said Maddy.

"So, you can understand them?" asked Danny.

"Well, I think I can just say yes, since you're one of us now," Maddy answered thoughtfully.

"One of you?" asked Danny, confused.

"Well," said Maddy, dunking under to fit through the hole that led to her home, and counting reasons on her fingers, "You're wanted by the SCPD, that's the Sapphire City Police Department, if you're slow, and you're living on the streets. Welcome to the club."

"I'm not exactly living here, you know," Danny argued.

"Feel free to go home. It will probably be flooded with cops by now," Maddy had a valid point, and Danny suddenly went silent.

"Where are we going?" he asked after a pause.

"My place," Maddy said bluntly and without further explanation.

They emerged into the dim candle lit cavern Maddy called home. Espeon blinked, taking this moment to fully take in what was around her. She hadn't gotten the chance to take a look previously. There was a single small bed, or a large cot, she couldn't tell which. There was a wooden desk, with several papers and pens. It had a few drawers, one of which was open. There were lots of blankets that didn't match scattered everywhere. There was a steel cabinet with a couple drawers open. Clothes were hanging out, so Espeon assumed that was where she kept her them. All in all, it looked very messy, but cozy.

"Welcome to my lovely home," said Maddy, in a sarcastic tone, of course, motioning at the room, "Make yourselves comfortable."

"Can Growlie show you now?" the small puppy asked Espeon.

"Okay," said Espeon. The puppy had been eagerly but patiently waited to show her something since she got out of the building.

The puppy wagged his tail in excitement and dropped the paper he had been carrying to the ground. He inhaled deeply and was about to set fire to the pile when something caught Espeon's eye. One of the sheets was entitled _The True Borders. _

_The True Borders… _

"Wait a minute, Growlie!" Espeon cried, a realization hitting her.

Growlie's breath caught in his throat as he tried to obey his friend's request. He quickly turned his head and the flames hit the floor instead of the sheet. Espeon snatched the paper, and then Growlie erupted into a fit of choking. Espeon dropped the sheet and went over to the pup.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. In her alarm she had only thought about saving the strange paper and the idea that it might have some answers. Growlie gave her a weak smile. He was all right.

"What happened?" the commotion had attracted the two human members of the group.

"Well," said Espeon, leaping onto one of the desk so the two could see the paper better, "You know the disk I found? I think it mentioned this."

"This disk?" asked Maddy, pulling the square case out of one of the many pockets of her coat. Espeon nodded.

"Yeah… Can you please tell me what's going on?" Danny said, trying to keep up with the conversation.

"Espeon found _this_ in her old room, and she thinks _this_ thing has something to do with it," Maddy spoke quickly, motioning from one object to another, and then turned back to Espeon, "But is this really important? We still need to find out about that vision, right?" Espeon looked uncomfortably at her feet.

"Well, besides Danny, we really don't have any leads…" she pointed out.

Maddy turned to Danny, who didn't look very happy, since he couldn't fully understand anything at the moment.

"Does a lake full of blood changing to water mean anything to you?" she asked blankly.

"What?" Danny asked, raising an eyebrow, now _really_ confused.

"Well, so much for that theory," said Maddy, throwing up her hands and turning back to Espeon.

"Wait a minute," insisted Danny, "What is going on!" Both Maddy and Espeon turned to look at him. He was obviously getting really ticked off at being left in the dark.

"You're the one who said, "welcome to the club", remember?" said Danny, arms crossed in front of his chest in a slightly immature way. Maddy glanced at Espeon, and then she turned to Danny. She stuck out her hand, and Danny reached out to shake it, but she pulled it back.

"If we tell you, then you're stuck with us, no matter what, whether you like it or not." She said, dead serious. This made Danny paused for a moment, but he made the same choice.

"Deal," he said shaking her hand.

Maddy spared him a quick smile, but then turned to the details. She quickly summarized what was going on. Danny's eyes were getting wider with every word she spoke, but somehow he managed to keep his questions bottled up until the end.

"Well, that explains why they pulled me out of school… but why did they want to spy on me in the first place? I've never broken a law in my life," Danny mulled it over in his mind thoughtfully. Maddy simply gave him a mischievous smile.

"Well that is definitely going to change… Why were you spying on him, Espeon?" she asked.

"I don't know exactly," shrugged Espeon said nervously, she wasn't used to people caring about what she thought, "But they said look for suspicious behavior, so maybe you did something to make them mad?" she suggested.

"It might have had something to do with my protest for pokemon rights, some people say they're kind of crazy…They were all over the newspaper, especially the one where I rescued the experimental Eevee from a burning building, and there was the time I stayed in a tree for five days so they wouldn't cut it down, I mean it was the home of a female pidgey and her family… Hey!" he snapped, looking at Maddy, who was toppling over from laughter, "What's so funny?"

"That was you?" she said, trying, unsuccessfully, to stop her outburst, "That was awesome! No wonder they were so ticked! They hate it when people do that kind of rebellious stuff!"

"They do?" asked Danny, a little confused, "I didn't know they cared about it that much… Will you _quit it_?"

Maddy was still trying to pull herself together, and finally succeeded.

"Sorry," she said with a shrug, wiping a tear from her eye.

"Anyway…" Danny growled, turning to Espeon, even if he couldn't understand her, she could understand him, "That answers that question, but why would this strange sight happen then? Was it just a coincidence?"

"I don't believe in coincidences," said Maddy, now fully recovered.

"So, you think I had something to do with it?" asked Danny.

"I don't know, and that's the point. We don't know anything about the situation yet, so we have to find out. We have to go back," Maddy said this all as if it were completely obvious.

"Go back in there? Are you kidding? They'll have tightened security by now," Danny looked at her as if she were crazy.

"But we have to find out, and we have to rescue Lugia!" Maddy insisted.

"We can't just waltz right up there. It was pure dumb luck that we got away last time!" Danny protested.

Espeon sighed, this argument wasn't getting anywhere. Growlie came up and sat beside her.

"What's a Lugia?" he asked.

Truly, Espeon didn't have any idea of what a Lugia was, so she chose to not answer Growlie. Her eyes absentmindedly drifted back the map entitled _The True Borders_. There was a large continent pictured, with lines for borders and city names written all over it. There were also a bunch of small stars written over random places. Odd. Her eyes traced the edge of the piece of land. Somehow it reminded her of something… Then it hit her. It wasn't a coincidence that the map looked familiar.

"Maddy, Danny, look at this!" she shouted.

Espeon's shout interrupted the duo's heated argument. They froze and turned to look at her.

"Look at what?" Maddy asked, her tone was slightly agitated.

"Do you have a map, I mean a regular map?" she asked urgently.

Wordlessly, Maddy reached into one of the many drawers in one of her many cabinets. She pulled out a dirty old map and set it on the table next to Espeon. Then her mouth fell open.

"They look exactly the same," she leaned even closer and scanned both pages. In truth, the maps were not exactly identical, they had the same outline, but different borderlines. It was as if someone had taken the same continent and divided it in different ways. Danny looked over Maddy's shoulder and had a pretty clear idea as to what was going on. Danny picked up both maps and examined them.

"Interesting…" he said, deep in thought. Maddy snatched the papers from his hands.

"Okay, now that is weird," she admitted.

"There was a map on the wall of my old room," explained Espeon, "So I thought it looked familiar."

"Why are there stars everywhere?" Danny asked. Examining the map at every angle. Espeon shrugged, and Danny understood the gesture.

"Maybe they pinpoint important places," he suggested.

"Why is this important?" asked Maddy irritably, "Aren't we supposed to be investigating Espeon's vision?"

"Well, this very well could have something to do with it, and besides, we're not _supposed_ to be doing anything. I say we at least go to the first one, it's right outside the city, if you compare the maps." Maddy stopped, thinking it over.

"I guess we could check out the surrounding area," she said slowly, "I'm always up for a mystery, anyways." She shrugged at the last part.

"And if we don't find anything, we'll come up with another plan to rescue Lugia," Danny said with a nod.

"Then what are we waiting for?" asked Maddy, her anger gone and replaced with the same eagerness for something new. Danny didn't think much of her changing mood then.

"I thought Maddy and Danny liked to argue," muttered a confused Growlie. Espeon just shrugged. She was still trying to figure out these two friendlier humans she had come to know.


	6. Through the Rabbit Hole

Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon

(RE)EDITED

* * *

"See?" said Maddy finally, waving her arms around the area for emphasis, "_There is nothing here._" 

The group of four had journeyed to a small, deserted forest park just outside the city. Realizing that they would soon be on the six o'clock news and everyone would know that they were wanted, they had moved quickly. Espeon and Growlie had followed them close behind, being careful of not being seen. After searching for a while, Maddy had become convinced that the whole thing was just a ploy and nothing was to be found.

"Still, it might be hidden," said Danny, bending down and feeling around in the grass.

"When will you give it up?" Maddy strutted into a large field and motioned towards it, "It'll take all day to search this, we should just go ba-- aaah!"

Maddy's speech was interrupted, well, with the fact that she fell into the ground. Or, rather, the ground caved in and she toppled into the earth with it.

Danny leaped forward and grabbed her hand, holding fast as she started to disappear. Maddy's cry cut short as she froze in mid air and her arm and Danny's were nearly pulled out of their sockets. Time seemed to freeze, with Maddy dangling over a pit with no visible bottom and Danny clinging to her as his arm screamed to let go.

"Maddy!" shouted Espeon, running to catch up.

"Espeon!" said Danny, straining his neck to look at the purple cat-like creature, "You can pick up objects with your mind, right? Help her!"

"Yeah, but how did you know that?" said Espeon quietly, giving him a slightly suspicious look. Then she shook herself. Danny was right. She could help. She leaned over the edge and concentrated.

"Espeon, wait!" cried Danny, an idea forming in his head, "Lower her _down_."

"What?" Maddy gaped, then she turned to Espeon, "He's insane! Don't listen to him!"

"I'm not crazy, so quit dramatizing. Don't you get it? This is it, this is the place," Danny was losing his patience.

"A bottomless hole in the ground? Gee, how exciting," said Maddy, rolling her eyes, " Now shut up get me up there!"

"Fine!" said Danny, "Alright, Espeon, help her up and get me down there."

"Danny, please, don't be an idiot!" whined Maddy. Espeon shuffled her paws uncomfortably. What to do?

To late, Danny couldn't hold on forever. He let go. Maddy cried out. _No, don't fall!_ Thought Espeon. She squeezed her eyes shut and pictured Maddy stopping and rising back up. A huge pain exploded in her head as Maddy's weight shifted into her mind, and Espeon almost dropped her. She was heavy… Espeon couldn't pull Maddy up, but maybe she could slow her fall? She grabbed Maddy with her mind and pulled hard. Maddy gasped as her fall slowed to almost a halt. A few moments later she touched solid ground. She landed gracefully and without a scratch.

"Maddy!" Danny's shout came from a ways away, but not that far. Maddy looked up and shielded her eyes at the bright light that came from above the dark chasm. There were several dark spots along it, supposedly the heads of the rest of the party.

"Danny? Espeon? Growlie?" she shouted, still in a slight state of shock.

"Maddy's okay!" came Growlie's eager cry.

"_Are_ you okay?" cried Danny, obviously relieved.

"Not a scratch," Maddy called, "Espeon pulled it off. Nice job."

The last comment was directed at Espeon, but she didn't reply. _Um, thank you_, she thought, unsure of what to do when someone was nice to her.

"So, what's down there?" Danny, of course, as curious as ever.

"A huge sign that explains everything!" cried Maddy, "What do you think? It's pitch dark!"

"Oh. Right. We'll be right down!"

"No, I'm coming up. You can spend all the time you want in a dark hole in the ground, but _I'm_ coming up!"

"Well, we haven't figured out "up" yet, so tough luck. Espeon, can you lower us all down?"

"Don't pressure her like that!" snapped Maddy.

"I'm not pressuring her! It's a question. She can say she doesn't want to."

"But she's nice so she'll say yes and you know it!" sniffed Maddy.

"Both of you stop it!" The kids once again froze at Espeon's voice. This was probably the sternest thing they had ever heard her say. She once again shuffled her paws uncomfortably, "We said we'd investigate the first place, so that's what we're going to do. We made a commitment."

"And that's final," said Growlie supportively, puffing out his chest to look as big as possible.

Neither Danny nor Maddy said anything, but Danny put himself over the edge and asked her:

"Ready?"

Espeon nodded and braced herself. Danny flung himself over the cliff, and Espeon once again felt a sharp pain in her head. Danny's fall slowed and his feet touched the ground. He noted it was tile. This place had to be man made.

"Growlie's next!" said the puppy eagerly, his tail wagging.

Espeon sighed and the Growlithe jumped. She felt the same pain, but this time it could barely be called a headache. Growlie was tons lighter than the other two.

"All right, Espeon, your turn. Can you lower yourself down?" Danny's call seemed awfully far away…

"I'm coming," she said slowly. She shut her eyes tightly and held her breath, then jumped.

Wind whistled around her as she fell. She put aside her rising fear, she was lighter than Danny and Maddy, she could make it… Her fall ended as she touched the ground. Sweet relief flowed through her.

"Well, the daring troops are here, now what, commander?" asked Maddy to Danny.

"We need light," said Danny. He turned to Growlie, "Can you use fire attacks Growlie?"

The pup wagged his tail furiously.

"Yes! Yes!" he cried.

Danny took off his jacket and placed it on the floor.

"I think this should burn," he said logically.

Growlie eagerly set fire to the jacket. The embers lit up the room.

"Whoa," said Maddy.

To them, the place looked like it had been pulled out of a historical fiction movie. There were several steel bookshelves loaded with books surrounding them. The floor was a checkered tile, and there were many metal desks scattered everywhere. There was an old fashioned computer with a lot of disorganized papers scattered next to it and on several of the desk.

"What the heck is this?" said Maddy walking over to a bulky red and gray machine. Danny walked over next to her. He studied the machine carefully, then his eyes widened in shock.

"It's a pokemon healing machine!"

"No way," said Maddy, eyebrows furrowed, "They stopped using those things, like, centuries ago." Danny nodded.

"Along with the extermination of poke balls," Danny nodded, "It was a couple hundred or so years ago, when the war started. I think I was right, this is what the star was pointing to."

"Exactly how old is that map?" asked Maddy.

"Don't know," said Danny, walking over to the bookshelf and picking out on of the books. It nearly turned to dust and crumbled out of his hands, "Pretty old."

"Danny?" asked Maddy, coming to stand next to him.

"Yes?"

"How did you know Espeon could move objects with her mind?" she asked.

"Huh?"

"And that Growlie could breath flames and that that thing was a pokemon healing machine? Or that the creature in that place was a Lugia?" Maddy pressed.

"Oh, that," said Danny, "I read about it."

"Where? I didn't know they had books about that stuff anymore."

"Lots of places. Books from the library, the Internet. Here and there," Danny shrugged.

"Oh," Maddy sounded as if this wasn't a satisfying answer. Growlie had stayed near the fire, his eyes shining with the dancing flames.

"So you can breath fire?" asked Espeon, sitting next to him, "Pretty cool."

"Uhuh," said Growlie, and then to be modest, he added, "You can make things move with your mind, that's cool too," then his face fell, "Oh no!" he shouted as the fire went out.

The room was plunged into pitch darkness.

"Hey! Hands off!" Maddy snapped at Danny.

"I'm way over here!" came Danny's voice.

"Then who… Get off!" Maddy sounded absolutely vicious.

The world was lit up again as Growlie had set fire to a pile of scattered paper on a desk. Maddy's captor was now on the floor rubbing his sore head, with a furious adolescent standing over him.

"What is your problem?" she demanded, but her former captor interrupted her. He was a man in maybe his forties, and he was completely bald. He pointed at Growlie.

"You can't burn that! It's valuable information!" he accused.

"About what?" asked Danny, setting aside all common sense that said this guy was to be feared. Then he cried out in pain as a large blue hand grasped his arm. A large human-like pokemon emerged from the shadows.

"Machoke," it bellowed. It grasped Danny in its strong arms. His face twisted in pain.

Maddy was about to charge on the Machoke (even if it was nearly three times her size) but was restrained as a second man joined the first, and then a third. Espeon rushed to the boy's defense instead. She picked up the Machoke, but barely managed to hold in a scream as the Machoke weight entered her mind. She hastily threw him up against the wall. The Machoke cried out and slammed into the concrete. Espeon ran over to Danny, who was standing up and rubbing his head. Oops, she had hurt Danny too!

"Sorry!" she shouted even though he couldn't understand her.

A female member of their attackers stepped out and whacked Danny in the head. Danny probably didn't even feel the blow. Espeon hadn't had time to react it was so sudden. He groaned and fell to the floor. Espeon's eyes glowed purple. How could she?

A powerful beam came from the large jewel on her for head and slammed into the woman. She staggered back, clutching her chest. Then she smirked and pulled out a small red and white ball from her belt. What was that? Espeon screeched to a halt, confused. The ball doubled in size and the woman threw it. It landed in front of Espeon. A red light flashed and in its place appeared a very large Murkrow. Espeon glared, preparing to fight. She tried to concentrate on picking up the pokemon, but nothing seemed to happen. She tried a Psybeam, but the bird just took the hit without flinching.

In turn, the black bird pokemon pummeled Espeon. Multiple hits followed. Espeon thought she tasted blood in her mouth. Her vision began to fade, and she blacked out, sinking to the ground.

Meanwhile, Maddy was having a hard time with two on one (Growlie was happily watching the dancing flames on the third.) They had finally had the brains to call out their pokemon, and two pokemon plus two humans was a bit much for the girl.

Growlie was still awake, but the small puppy didn't stand a chance. The bars of the small cage closed and he was trapped.


	7. Team Snagem's New Hideout

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon

(RE)EDITED

* * *

_Wake up!_

Maddy groaned and stirred, but didn't awaken.

_Wake up!_

_Why don't you _shut _up?_ Thought Maddy. Her head felt sore, ad she had a feeling opening her eyes wouldn't help the pain.

A boot hit her side hard. Ow! _Come on! Wake up!_

"She's not going to wake up just because you tell her to."

Voices ran clear in her head now. A familiar voice… Danny?

"Well, she's going to have to!" someone began to shake her roughly, "Wake up!"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you…" Danny again. The hands shook her again. _That's it…_

Her fist went straight up and hit whoever was there.

"Ow!" cried the one who had been trying to wake her up. _Bull's eye… _A small smile flickered across Maddy's face.

She heard someone laughing. She recognized it as Growlie.

"The brat's already awake!"

_Do you_ want _me to hit you again? _Suddenly Maddy remembered what had happened. Alarm rang through her whole body. Where were they?

Before she could say anything, another voice joined the first two.

"Virus! The boss would like to speak to you now," called a gruff stranger.

"Y-Yes sir!" Maddy's annoying captor, a female, suddenly lost the arrogant tone to her voice. There was the sound of a door opening and closing, and then Danny again.

"She's gone now," he informed her.

Maddy yawned and sat up. She surveyed the room around her. It looked something like a waiting room that had been taken over by plants. There was moss everywhere, the floor was tile, from what she could see of it, and it was pretty dark, the only light came from holes in the wall and ceiling. From what she could tell, it was broad daylight. She could clearly see what looked like a front desk that was covered with vines and probably wasn't of any use to anyone. Table and chairs lay scattered randomly around the room. She and her companions were on the grassy floor in the center of the strange building.

"How long was I out?" she asked Danny. What was going on?

"No idea. I was only rudely awoken half an hour ago," he answered.

"What's happened since then?" she asked.

"Virus, the woman, or at least she says she's a woman, she looks sixteen to me, is one of those creeps who attacked us. I think they use code names because I can't imagine anyone naming their kid Virus. Other than that, I haven't found out anything useful. We've pretty much just been trying to wake you up," Danny reported.

"Maddy's a deep sleeper," commented Growlie, who had lifted his leg to scratch behind his ear. Maddy laughed at this comment, but then her face fell.

"Hey, where's Espeon?" she asked, suddenly serious.

Danny shook his head as if he had wondered that himself, but hadn't been able to figure it out.

"Haven't seen her since I woke up," he confessed.

"How long were we out, anyway?" Maddy asked, a frustrated edge to her voice. This wasn't a favorable situation. They were in a strange place surrounded by strange people, and they probably didn't even know the date! It seemed impossible.

Danny shrugged. He didn't know. Growlie looked at her apologetically, not knowing what to say. Maddy sighed. This _was _impossible.

* * *

Virus stood outside the bosses office and fiddled with her hair, a thing she did when she was nervous. This was her last chance. Because of that creep Silver, she had been placed at the bottom work line: guarding a century old science lab. Nobody actually went there, the boss just sent people miles away from Orre as a way to get them out of his face while _saying_ it was an important job. Among the officers of Team Snagem, it was considered bottom rank work.

But of all the luck! They were still debating whether or not the Espeon her team had caught was the one that escaped from the main government building, the one completely dedicated to their law, but Virus was almost certain. It had to be. An Eevee only evolved into an Espeon when a trainer learned friendship with it. That was beyond rare. She began to gnaw on a few strands of her hair.

"Virus, you can come in now," her bosses voice snapped her to attention.

"Yes sir?" she tried to look as professional as possible as she entered the boss's room. The room was suited for an office. It had a single wooden desk, a material rarely used anymore, but what else were you supposed to use on the only fertile spec of land in the middle of a desert? Anyway, it wasn't where you'd find the boss most often. He was usually out training with Jolteon, his pokemon of choice. The two were so alike it was scary. They were both muscular, but not to an obsessive point. They could more accurately be described as lean. Her boss's tone was always perfectly calm, and both he and his Jolteon always had a look in their eyes, one that was a mix of all seeing knowledge and one of curiosity. It was like saying: _I know everything, now tell me more._

"It turns out, the Espeon was the escapee. Congratulations."

Virus restrained herself from screaming for joy. This was the break she so needed! She'd be executive in no time!

"You're back to Orre field jobs, oh, and I'm taking you off of the thief investigation for a new assignment."

Could this day get any better? She was back in Orre, and now she didn't have to deal with the pest who had kicked her out in the first place! She was ready for any assignment he could give her!

"Your to watch over the others found with the Espeon. They don't seem threatening, but since they were found with something this valuable, we can't take any chances."

Virus's face fell. What? Se was stuck with a drooling puppy, a know-it-all, and a violent banshee? _So_ not fair! The boss, (his true name, as most team members new, was Dimitri, but they just referred to him as boss) read her look.

"Come on, Virus, it can't be that bad," he said sympathetically.

* * *

"What's the matter with her?" asked Maddy as Virus walked into the room with a sour look on her face. 

"Maybe she's mad at you," suggested Growlie.

"I didn't hit her that hard…" muttered Maddy.

The three stared at Virus, awaiting an explanation.

"Aren't you three scared?" she asked.

"Of you?" asked Maddy, snorting, "No."

"But you don't have a clue were you are, or who we are, and you're perfectly calm about it!"

"Where are we and who are you?" shrugged Danny.

Virus bit her lip and glared at him. Then she sighed.

"Guess I'm going to need to get used to this, since I'm stuck with you... _people_," She hissed the last word, as if restraining herself from saying something worse.

"What?" exclaimed Maddy, "You mean _we're _stuck with _you_?"

"Here's the short summary: We're team Snagem, this is our headquarters, I'm not telling you exactly where that is," she said looking at Danny, who's mouth was open indicating he had been about to ask, "Any other questions?"

"I'm hungry," whined Growlie.

Virus looked at the puppy. Then decided to ignore him and looked at the other two expecting them to ask her something. Of course, Danny did.

"What's Team Snagem? Why won't you tell us exactly where we are? Why are we here? Where's the Espeon that was with us? Why were you at that old abandoned laboratory?" Danny listed his thoughts as they came to him. Virus stared blankly. Then shook herself.

"Anything else?" she asked weakly.

"Yes, I just wanted to give you a chance to answer my other questions," Danny said.

Virus groaned and slapped her forehead. That's it, the boss was mad at her, why else would he be putting her through this?

"I'm hungry," Growlie's whining didn't do much for Virus's mood, even if she couldn't understand it.

"We're hungry," Maddy voiced Growlie's complaint out loud.

Virus raised an eyebrow and opened the door a crack. She spoke to somebody outside, confirming Danny's theory of there being guards outside the door. Se turned back to them.

"Follow me," she said sternly.

The group followed her outside, and took in the beauty of their surroundings, literally. The whole place was covered in greenery, and circled by a great lake. There were buildings built in trees, or at least what used to be buildings, they were now covered in vines and moss, like the building Maddy, Danny, and Growlie had just been in. Danny paused for a moment to read the sign outside of their prison. PC? What did that stand for?

"Come on!" Virus's impatient call urged him onward. The guards (three of them) followed them as they left.

They headed up a steep hill. To the left of that was a chain of waterfalls that started so high up you couldn't see he top, pounding into a pool of water. It wasn't that deep, you could see the bottom, but by the indent in the ground you could tell it had once been much deeper.

They were now high in the air, and Danny could look down at the point where they had once been. He peered down and saw that there was a steep hill leading downward from the building marked PC. At the bottom was what appeared to be a dried up stream and the entrance to an old cave now covered in thick vines and rocks. He squinted. He could had sworn something had moved…

"Move it!" Another cry from Virus yanked him out of his mind and he rushed to catch up. As he ran, something in he center of the path made him trip.

"Ow…" he groaned and, rubbing his knee, sat up and looked at the object that had caused his fall. It was a… sign? He flipped it over, and sure enough, it was a sign. It read:

WELCOME TO AGATE VILLAGE


	8. Lessons in Thievery

Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon

(RE)EDITED

* * *

"Ready?" Silver asked. He already new the answer, but just asked anyway. 

_Of course,_ thought the Umbreon beside Silver, getting into position.

The duo had been waiting patiently for maybe a half an hour now. They were behind the remains of an incredibly large fallen tree in the center of the hideout formerly known as Agate Village. Now the coast seemed clear… Or maybe not. They watched as a particularly well-known Snagem operative walked by in front their hiding place.

Virus, as usual, had something to be angry about. Her face was sour and her shoulders stooped as she walked along followed by two kids and a Growlithe. Silver and Umbreon looked closely at the unfamiliar visitors. It wasn't on a daily basis that you saw visitors in Orre.

_Things never cease to get interesting around here_, thought Umbreon.

Silver, on the other hand, was happier at seeing Virus back than the other three. He hadn't particularly wanted her to leave in the first place. Virus and her companions came and went out of sight. Umbreon nudged Silver's leg impatiently.

_The coast isn't going to stay clear forever!_ Umbreon thought. They were wasting valuable time. Silver was shaken out of his trance.

"Go ahead, Umbreon," he said.

Umbreon instantly took off out into the open. Two seconds later, alarms sounded. Not electric ones, but simply the sound of people shouting. Silver smiled to himself and headed in the opposite direction. While Umbreon kept them occupied, he'd go and get the goods. He silently crept away.

Meanwhile, Virus wasn't in a good mood, and hearing Silver and his Umbreon were here again wasn't helping.

"Whose Silver?" asked Danny, hearing the calls around him.

Virus shot him a venomous glare to make him shut up, but answered him regardless.

"He's a pest whose sole goal in life is to drive team Snagem, specifically _me_, insane. He and his Umbreon just show up and take whatever they want whenever they feel like it. He'll regret it one day, though. Team Snagem will not stand for it!" she finished her speech with a determined glint in her eye.

"So, what are you going to do about it?" asked Danny.

"Absolutely nothing," said Virus, crossing her arms in front of her chest, "I'm stuck with you; he's not my problem anymore."

Umbreon rounded a corner and sprinted towards what looked like a cave entrance, but was really the entrance to the Team's underground main base. It was a little smaller than the cave in the center of the village, but it was more heavily concealed. To his left lay a cliffs edge, an endless abyss below. He took a right and pushed through the fortress of brambles.

He stood up straight and shook off the thorns that clung to his fur. At first glance, this place looked like a wooded cave with a dried up pool, but if you turned to the right angle, you could see the entrance to a building with white tile floor. Typically, it was guarded, but today the guards were chasing him. This is where they usually sneaked in, to get food and other supplies.

He ran down the tile purposefully. He knew the way there and back well enough to not even think about it.

* * *

"This is unbelievable." 

"Who would have thought...?"

"It's incredible…"

_I'm a she, not an it,_ thought Espeon.

She had only just woken up, and these "Team Snagem" scientist, as they called themselves, were going nuts over her. She was in a room that was made completely made up of white tile floor, walls, and ceiling. There were also several desk and computers. She was placed in an oddly large cage that was surrounded by an oddly colored fortress of some sort that apparently blocked her powers. Or at least she assumed so because she couldn't think of any other explanation as to why she couldn't use them. In other words, she was completely helpless. She could only sit there and wonder where the others were and where she was and whether or not this was going to be worse than the scientist back home.

Without warning, a man burst into the room. The guy looked out of breath, and he looked ready to strangle somebody.

"That brat and his wretched Umbreon are here," he said, breathing heavily.

"We'll keep an eye out," by the tone of the scientist's voice, you could tell he couldn't care less. Probably too wrapped up in Espeon. She was sick of people treating her like that, like she was the most important thing in the world. Couldn't they just leave her alone?

The man nodded and turned to continue his search.

What seemed like seconds later, there was a huge crash at the door. The scientist were knocked out of the little world in their heads and turned to look. One went over and opened the door. A black and yellow creature came flying through, and slammed into the wall. A tall blue skinned creature Espeon recognized as a Machoke closely followed it.

"The Umbreon!" one of the scientists shouted. They weren't going to stick around in the middle of a fight. They rounded the Machoke and went out into the hallway.

Espeon stared with worried eyes at the fallen creature. Was he okay? Or was he a member of Snagem? It certainly didn't seem like it, the way these people were acting. She put herself against the edge of her cage. He stirred and his eyes opened to look at Espeon. At first he looked dizzy, but then his eyes cleared. He met Espeon's gaze head on. Espeon blushed, slightly embarrassed. Umbreon's tired look soon went to a… smile? The Umbreon hauled himself to his feet and gave Espeon a dazed, cocky grin. He then turned his eyes to the Machoke.

"Do you honestly call that a throw?" he taunted from across the room. The enraged Machoke roared, and charged to meet Umbreon head on.

Umbreon braced himself for the attack. He just had to withstand this, and he was home free. The poor Machoke wouldn't see what hit him, Umbreon almost felt sorry for him.

The Machoke hit Umbreon hard with a Mach Punch. It did a lot, due to type disadvantages. Nonetheless, Umbreon stood his ground, and hit Machoke with a head on Return attack. The Machoke wasn't ready for such a powerful hit. It fell backwards, and was out, just like that. Espeon could just stare in disbelief.

The Umbreon searched around the edge of the barrier, searching for something. He raised his head in victory for his search, and the force field collapsed.

"Come on, Ugly's trainer will be hear soon," he said.

"But... you're hurt," said Espeon, looking Umbreon over. He gave her his cocky smile.

"I'll live, but we need to leave now." Espeon wasn't sure how to react. No one had ever spoken to her like that before. She felt self-conscious, but somehow, she didn't really mind.

"Right behind you," she said.


	9. Blowing this Joint

Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon

(RE)EDITED

* * *

"I told you, he's not my problem anymore," said Virus to the short, bald Team Snagem member who was speaking to her. The guy gave her a confused look. 

"But… I was told you were in charge of dealing with him…" he stuttered.

"Not as of twenty minutes ago," she said in an I-couldn't-care-less sort of voice, "He's not my problem anymore. If you want to know who is, go to the boss. I'm stuck with them," at this point she jerked a finger towards Maddy, Danny, and Growlie, "I don't have time." The stout Houndour, a lazy, proud thing, that was standing next to Virus glared menacingly at the man.

The member looked behind Virus and saw the trio for the first time. Maddy, who was standing up defiantly, gave him a what-are-you-looking-at glare. Danny was sitting, legs crossed, kind of slouched. He gave the Team Snagem member a slight wave. Growlie yawned from where he was apparently asleep on the floor. They were all hiding the fact that they were planning an escape. Well, they were _trying_ to come up with a plan. They were pretty much open to anything.

The member seemed somewhat curious, but decided he had more important matters to deal with. He turned his attention back to Virus. She gave him a look that just begged him to continue to complain. The member gulped. Virus was typically well known around Team Snagem. She was one of the only female members, not because they were sexist, but because that's just how it happened to be. She was also typically violent. Go figure.

"Fine," he muttered, and exited through the door.

She turned to the other three in the room. They quickly resumed their previous positions to fast for Virus to notice. The room was something similar to the one they were previous one they had been in. Like it had been a functioning facility and had been attacked by moss. Although this one was less covered, like they had tried to clear the plants away. Danny wondered if they used it for something. He had seen a pair of letters hidden outside the entrance of this one too. The letters: PM.

"You don't like this Silver person, do you?" he asked her.

"Sorry," she said, "You're only allowed a certain amount of questions a day. Try asking tomorrow."

"Why am I only allowed a certain amount of questions...?" Danny started, but gave up.

"When are we going to eat?" whined Growlie, anxious, "Where's Espeon?" Maddy patted his head comfortingly.

More commotion arose from outside. Another Team Snagem member came through the door. Virus seemed to anticipate what he was going to say.

"I'm not on that project anymore," she said definitely. This seemed to anger the other member, or maybe it was her arrogant tone.

"I'm a higher commanding officer! I'm ordering you to come and help catch them!" he shouted.

"Yeah? Well, the boss is the one who took me off of it. Go take it up with him." The member glared at her, but ran out the door. Danny nudged Maddy.

"We need to think of an escape plan," he informed her, whispering.

"I know," Maddy hissed back, "Got any bright ideas?"

"Not sure," Danny said, "There are people swarming around here. Someone would be bound to catch us if we ran. And besides, where are we, anyway?" Maddy shrugged. She didn't know. It was a bit unnerving. What was going to happen to them in this place?

* * *

Silver leaped over another tree root, and dodged an attack from the Golbat behind him. It was about the only thing that could keep up with Silver. The other Team Snagem members wouldn't stand a chance. Unfortunately, the Golbat had posed more of a challenge than Silver had thought, especially since there were no obstacles in the air to slow it down. He needed place to hide so that Golbat couldn't follow him. Somewhere inside.

There, up ahead, the building that used to be a PokeMart. He was sure there was a window he could use to get out once he was in.

He barged past a confused Snagem Grunt and into the building. He registered the fact that Virus was standing just inside the doorway, looking surprised. Next to her was her Houndour. There were two other people in the room that he wasn't familiar with, along with a small Growlithe.

None of this really mattered to him so much as the fact that he couldn't see any windows. He ducked just as the pursuing Golbat came into the room screeching, feeling a whoosh of air as it flew right over him. This seemed to jolt everyone else in the room out of their shock.

"Houndour!" shouted Virus. The dog pokemon immediately launched himself at Silver, who scrambled to his feet and pulled himself forward to avoid the open mouth of Houndour.

"Got you!" Virus snapped, grabbing Silver's arm and holding fast.

Meanwhile, Danny, Maddy, and Growlie were very puzzled.

"What's going on?" asked Maddy. Danny shrugged.

Silver pulled against Virus' hold, but the Team Snagem member just smirked and let go, sending Silver flying forward. He grabbed Maddy's arm to steady himself.

"Hey-" Maddy began, but was interrupted as Silver pulled her to the floor and the almost forgotten Golbat gave a cry as it soared above them. Maddy shook herself, a bit stunned, and turned to see Houndour emitting a low growl a few feet away.

"Um..." she stammered, frozen in place.

"Bad doggy!" shouted Growlie, to Houndour's left, "You leave Maddy alone, you big meany!" Houndour's head snapped towards the puppy, not too fond of being called names. Danny snatched Growlie up off the floor as Houndour jumped at him.

"Come on!" called Silver, picking himself and Maddy up and taking off towards the door while pulling Maddy with him. Unfortunately, Virus was blocking it, looking all too infuriated. Silver skidded to a halt, and this time it was Maddy who pulled him out of the way as Houndour attacked. The startled pokemon whimpered as his prey disappeared and he slammed into his even more startled trainer instead. Virus gave a small "oomph" as the heavy dog headbutted her gut, knocking the air out of her. The two toppled over into the doorway, neither in the right condition to get up.

"What just happened?" asked Maddy. Silver didn't answer. He simply carefully stepped over the unmoving girl and her pokemon. He picked up his pace when Golbat screeched.

"Are you coming?" he asked Maddy as he headed off. Maddy blinked, but then ran after him. Danny, who didn't know what else to do, followed with Growlie in his arms.

Silver lead them through Agate Village as Team Snagem members began to chase after them. Danny wondered if something else was going on because there didn't seem to be that many people chasing them.

"Espeon!" shouted Growlie, leaping out of Danny's grip and running off.

"Growlie!" Danny called after him, but the puppy wasn't listening as he ran, tail wagging, around the corner and away from his friends.

A soft rain began to fall.


	10. Bizarre Living Conditions

Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon

(RE)EDITED

* * *

Rain started to fall as Growlie looked for Espeon. At first it was a drizzle, but it was getting harder by the second. 

"Growlie!" shouted Espeon happily as the puppy barreled around the corner.

Umbreon, who had been alarmed when he saw a pokemon coming straight at them, relaxed as Espeon greeted him.

"Who's he?" asked Umbreon.

"Umbreon, meet Growlie. He's my friend," said Espeon introducing Growlie.

"Hi!" barked Growlie happily.

"Hi," said Umbreon warily.

"Come on," said Espeon, starting to run in there escape again, "Where were you Growlie? Do you know the way out?"

"Growlie was with Maddy and Danny," the puppy reported dutifully.

"Can you take me to them?" she asked, then turned to Umbreon, "Are you coming?"

_Okay… He refers to himself in third person, _Umbreon thought absently. At the sound of Espeon's voice Umbreon shook himself out of his own world.

"Of course!" he said.

The three reached where Maddy, Danny, and Silver had previously been. Growlie sniffed around the area, trying to follow the other's scent so they could catch up. Espeon looked uneasily at the vast expanse of water surrounding Agate.

"What's wrong?" asked Umbreon.

"Are we... going to have to swim that?" she asked uneasily.

"No. Why? You don't like water?" he asked casually.

"Not really, but I just wouldn't prefer to swim all of that way…" Espeon explained.

"Believe me, if we had to swim all of that way just to get here, then we wouldn't come as often," said Umbreon, getting kind of bored. He heard shouts from what seemed like not that far of a distance.

"Any progress with the search, Growlie?" he asked a little impatiently. Growlie made his answer very clear.

"Stupid rain," he said, sitting down.

"Time to go," said Umbreon.

"But what about our friends?" asked Espeon, in a worried voice.

"No one would do any good to them in a cage like the one you were in. Come on, I know the way out. We'll come back for your friends, I promise." Espeon still looked unsure.

"Okay," she said quietly. Umbreon gave her a sympathetic look.

"Come on," he said.

Espeon and Growlie followed Umbreon across a steel bridge, and as they crossed, Espeon noticed what looked like the remains of a previous wooden bridge. She wondered how old this place was. Umbreon led them down a steep hill and they entered yet another cave, although it was a lot tougher to get into this one than the other. Years of boulders, brambles, and vines must have blocked the entrance. Near the entrance, Umbreon led them down a further tunnel. Espeon stared down the cave path that led onward.

"What's down here?" she asked in wonder. Umbreon stuck his head out of the hole in the ground he had jumped into. He smiled a little.

"A beautiful place. I could show you another time. I'm sure you'd like it," he said.

"Can Growlie come to?" the little pup asked excitedly.

"Um… I guess." Said Umbreon, obviously not really meaning it. He was kind of bad at saying no to those around Growlie's age.

Espeon tore her gaze from the path and followed Umbreon down the hatch. Once everyone was down, Umbreon went over to the dirt- covered door to the place. It was tilted and leaned against the wall, so he squeezed under it and pushed upward. With some help from Espeon, he was able to lift the trap door, and a metallic click signified that the door was securely in place. Espeon was a little worried.

"Are you sure my friends will be able to find this place?" she asked.

"Don't worry," said Umbreon, "They might have found Silver, my partner, and if they didn't, then we'll come back and tell them where it is."

"How are we supposed to see down here?" asked Espeon.

"Just a second…" Umbreon felt along the floor, "I know they're here somewhere… Ahah!" A beam of light lit up the room. Umbreon held something awkwardly in his mouth for a few seconds, right before dropping it.

"Darn it!" he cried, leaning down to pick it up again. It was no use. The flashlight wouldn't fit securely in his mouth.

"Why don't you try holding it side ways, instead of having it poke straight down your throat?" suggested Espeon. Umbreon tried this method, and it worked somewhat better. He did have to walk at a strange angle so the beam shot forward.

"Thanks," was what he tried to say, but he paused in the middle when the flashlight fell out of his mouth again. Espeon laughed slightly.

"Does Silver usually carry the flashlight?" she asked.

"Yeah. It must be easier with thumbs," said Umbreon.

"So, he's human?" commented Espeon.

"Silver? Yeah. We've been friends for who knows how long," Umbreon informed her.

Umbreon picked up his flashlight again, the beam waving every which way. Espeon looked down the tunnel beyond them. That was what it was. A simple dirt covered tunnel. A particularly tall human might have to crouch down, but other than that, it seemed a comfortable size.

"Of course!" shouted Espeon, startling Umbreon into almost dropping their light source again. This time, he wisely stayed quiet. Espeon understood and went on.

"I didn't see how this place could withstand so much water pressure, but there's a layer of steel above the dirt," she said.

"They were here!" barked Growlie in an excited tone with a wagging tail as he lifted his nose off of the ground. He gave out a happy bark and leaped down the path.

"Come on!" Espeon shouted to Umbreon, who still hadn't moved. Umbreon started to follow.

_Weird,_ he thought_, she notices something in five minutes, and I haven't even bothered to think about that the five million times I've been down here._ It didn't really bother him, though. After all, he had never really gotten to know anyone besides Silver and a few others. Maybe this would be interesting.

* * *

"It's a… desert," said Danny, coming out of the tunnel and into the sunshine. It obviously wasn't raining out here.

"Yup, it's a desert," said Silver, emerging by his side.

"Okay," said Maddy slowly, scanning the horizon. Silver looked at the dumbfounded expressions on their faces.

"Maybe we should get moving now?" he suggested.

"Right," said Maddy.

"So, you live in the middle of the desert?" asked Danny.

"Not exactly," answered Silver.

"What do you mean "not exactly"? And why are you showing us when you've just met us?" Danny asked curiously.

"Bad idea, Danny," said Maddy, "You're not supposed to openly tell him."

Silver gave them a sly smile.

"Because," he said, answering Danny, "You wont be able to find your way back without me."

"He makes a good point," said Maddy.

"So, you've memorized your way from here to your home?" Danny, of course.

"Yup," said Silver, "Are you coming?"

"What about Espeon and Growlie?" asked Maddy, in a scolding tone.

"Umbreon will lead them here," said Silver.

"Who's Umbreon?" asked Danny.

"My partner," said Silver in absolute certainty, "The only reason he wouldn't be here now is because he got held up with your friends." He started walking through the sand. Danny and Maddy rushed to keep up.

"You're sure?" asked Maddy.

"Positive," replied Silver confidently.

"So exactly how can you live in the middle of a scorching hot desert?" asked Danny.

"I told you," Silver answered, "We don't exactly live in the middle of the desert."

"Then where…" Maddy stopped and stared. To their left, in what looked like a small city squeezed in a short canyon. A long abandoned city. The buildings were barely standing. They looked like they could fall over if you breathed on them. Unlike the previous city, there wasn't a single piece of greenery. It was all paved, and the buildings were steel and rusted.

"You live here?" asked Maddy, not taking her eyes off of it.

"Are you two coming?" Silver's voice came from a distance. He was standing a ways away, waiting for them to catch up. Maddy and Danny quickly ran to catch up.

"We're here," said Silver. They had arrived at a small paved path in the middle of the desert. There were red steel bars and fence on either side of them, and at the end there was what looked like the entrance to a tunnel of some sort. It ran in to the edge of a cliff. Danny looked down the whole.

"You live down there?" he asked.

"It's bigger than it looks," Silver said, clapping Danny's shoulder, "Come on." He turned around and put his feet over the edge.

"Wait," said Maddy, "We're climbing down there?"

"There used to be an elevator, but it broke years ago," Silver shrugged, "Besides, this isn't that hard. It's pretty shallow, the worst a fall could give you is a broken arm."

"Yeah, that's pretty safe," said Maddy sarcastically.

"Fine then, I'll go down first," he said. He started climbing downward, and a few minutes later he shouted up, "See? It's not so hard!" He voice wasn't echoing, but he obviously wasn't that far away.

"Do you want me to go next?" asked Danny.

"Nope," said Maddy, starting downward, with Danny close behind.

Although it wasn't that long, the trip was extremely dark. It wasn't that hard to find handholds, though. Silver had gone up and down here a lot.

When they reached the bottom, Silver greeted them by saying,

"Now was that so hard?"

Maddy rolled her eyes, the question directed at her.

"So, what is this place?" Danny asked. The room looked like a lobby. The floor was tile and the walls and ceiling were painted green, though the paint was chipped. There were chairs and a table a little ways away. Behind those were what could have been stairs, but they were now rusted and were defiantly not safe to walk on.

"This place looks really old," said Danny, "But the lights still work…"

"I snatched some light bulbs from Team Snagem. They've got thousands," replied Silver, "It did take me a while to get them hooked up to the electric system in here. It's pretty old, even by Orre standards."

To Maddy's surprise, Danny didn't ask about what Orre was, so she decided to ask for him, but before she could say anything, Silver continued.

"You guys want to see something really amazing?" he asked eagerly. Without waiting for an answer, he headed to the building's door. They were greeted by darkness, but then the place was flooded with light. Maddy and Danny couldn't help it, they gasped.

"A city?" asked Danny.

"Welcome to the Under," said Silver. Before them was a steep drop, and beyond that was a city. The whole place was floored with concrete. And there were buildings everywhere lit up with neon lights. You could easily see why the place was called the Under, the entire place was underground. The building they had previously been in was behind them, and it was bigger than it had looked. Silver seemed to be enjoying their shocked expressions.

"This place is amazing. I'll give you the grand tour," he started walking, waiting for them to follow. Danny grasped Maddy's arm and held her back.

"This is it," he said.

"What?" asked Maddy.

"This place, it was marked with a star on the map, see?" he held it up to show her.

"You still have that thing? I thought Snagem took it away from you," she then stopped. She wondered if the ragged Team Snagem had even bothered to search her friend.

"I kept it in my sock," said Danny, "But don't you see? The Under, in the Orre region, is marked with one of the stars. This place must be important."

"You _still _haven't gotten over that?" Maddy groaned.

"Nope, and I won't. Not until I get some answers," Danny said, a determined glint in his eye.


	11. First Date?

Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon

(RE)EDITED

* * *

Umbreon yawned and stirred. Then he wondered why he couldn't sleep. He was usually out like a rock, especially in the comfort of the Under, and after a long day. Just getting down here had been a hassle. He couldn't help at laugh as he remembered. 

Umbreon, Espeon, and Growlie had reached the entrance to Umbreon's home. He had motioned to a small platform suspended over the edge.

"Usually, Silver lowers me down and then climbs down himself, but since you're here I'll get you two down first, " he had said.

"Are you sure?" Espeon looked uneasily downward, "Are you sure you can hold us both?"

"No problem, Growlie probably doesn't weigh more than a toothpick," replied Umbreon confidently. Espeon laughed weakly.

"You haven't seen him eat..." she pointed out.

"Hop on," Umbreon didn't pay much attention to her warning. He firmly grasped the rope between his teeth. Espeon daintily stepped onto the platform. It wobbled slightly, unleveled by her weight. Growlie was taking this much more lightly.

"Yay!" he shouted, leaping excitedly on to the platform, his jump making it rock violently. From this he gained a scolding from Espeon. It turned out Espeon was right. Growlie was heavier than he looked. They slipped down faster than expected.

When they entered the chamber, Growlie happily leapt off the platform and jumped on top of Danny, the closest target, and gave him a thorough face-licking. Umbreon had let go of the rope; tongue out, breathing hard, his mouth rope-burned. Espeon had made her greeting more formal. It actually took a while for them to hear Umbreon yelling at them to help him down.

_It was an eventful day, _Umbreon concluded. He yawned again and, feeling restless, stepped out into the Under's main chamber. It was dimly lit by the neon lights set to low.

"Espeon?" he inquired, surprised to see his guest up late.

The cry unexpected, Espeon nearly fell into the chasm that separated the Under in half. Umbreon grabbed the scruff of her neck and pulled her up. She breathed heavily, not because she was tired, but because she had narrowly escaped falling.

"Um, thank you," she said weakly.

"Don't mention it," said Umbreon, as if saving someone's life was all in a day's work, "Why are you out here, anyway?"

"Oh, just enjoying the view…" ESpeon stammered,

"Of a dump like this in the middle of the night? This place is only beautiful if you're walking in it," Umbreon said.

"Well, there's no way to cross…" Espeon started, unsure of what else to say.

"There is," said Umbreon, sitting next to her, "And that's not the real reason you're up here."

"Well, I just can't sleep,' confessed Espeon, "You have no idea how much I've been through in the past week. It's like I lived my whole life in a few days."

"Relax, I'm not trying to be offensive. What happened to you is your business," Umbreon backed off, even if he was still curious.

Espeon remained quiet for a while, gazing thoughtfully at the underground metropolis.

"Umbreon… you said there was a way across," she started.

"Hmm? You want to see the city?" Umbreon offered.

"I was just wondering… Why would someone build a city underground?" Espeon asked thoughtfully.

"Not a clue," Umbreon laughed, "Come on, I'll show you across." He walked a little to the left, than stopped.

"Where is that thing?" he muttered to himself, and then, "Ahah!" he gave a triumphant cry. Espeon bounded to his side. He stood beside a small, floating platform. A dim blue glow came from under it.

"We finally got this thing to work," said Umbreon, "It was pretty low tech, we kinda made it more complicated than it really was. Funny story really," he cleared his throat and stopped himself.

"Still want to see the Under?" he asked, stepping aboard.

"Uh, sure," said Espeon, her eyes looking down the pit below them as she stepped onto the platform after Umbreon, "What's down there?"

"Don't know," said Umbreon, following her gaze, "And I don't want to. It'll probably be the last thing I ever see." The disk began to move across the chasm.

"See, that wasn't that scary," said Umbreon, stepping off.

"I- I was not scared!" snapped Espeon.

"Sure you weren't…" teased Umbreon.

"You're not that funny!" at first, Espeon wasn't really sure what to make of Umbreon's mockery. Did he mean it, or was he just messing around?

"Well, you're the first one that's told me that," said Umbreon.

"Oh really? Who told you otherwise?" Espeon asked, most of her anger fading into curious puzzlement.

"Well, my sister told me I was funny…" Umbreon began,

"You have a sister?" Espeon asked, the anger gone from her voice.

"Yeah, she'd laugh at anything I said, though it did get annoying. I could never tell her that though…" Umbreon sort of drifted off for a moment.

"What was she like?" Espeon wondered aloud

"You're interested in my family now?" Umbreon asked.

"Well, I didn't have a family…" Espeon began. The truth was, no one she knew had a family. Danny was from an orphanage, Maddy lived under a building, and she had found Growlie on the streets. She was kind of interested in the subject.

"Well, if you really want to know," Umbreon was trying not to hurt Espeon's feelings, "She was a really easy audience, so her thinking I was funny probably didn't mean much. She was sweet, easy to please, and her one purpose in life was to make everyone content, especially those younger than her."

"What happened to her? I mean, you're here with Silver now…" Espeon tried to explain her question.

"To make answering that question easier, I'll just give you my life story," Umbreon offered.

"Well, if you want to…" Espeon murmured.

"It's fine," insisted Umbreon, and he started off, "I lived with my sister and my dad. My mother died when my sister was born," his voice seemed to drift and his eyes had a far away look in them as he spoke, "It took my dad a while to get back on his feet. He had really loved my mom. I think we finally convinced him he still had us to live for, me and my sis, I mean. So it was just him, me and my sister."

Espeon was transfixed by his words. Her eyes never left him.

"Anyway, my dad was always making really bad jokes, but we'd laugh anyway. He thought he was the funniest one on earth, but like I said, my sister always said she thought I was funny too. She was always there for us. I think dad thought she was the reincarnation of mom. He always said she was just like her. We were perfectly happy, just the three of us," he voice then lowered and he kind of choked in his words. Espeon could tell nothing good was coming next.

"Well, anyway. One day, Team Rocket came to Orre. They started this whole feud with Team Snagem. I don't think it's been settled yet. Well, Team Rocket started catching every pokemon they could find, not that there was much. We thought we'd be safe because we lived far away from where they were. We lived in a place called Phenac at the time." He paused for a moment.

"We were wrong. They came to our home, and all that lived there fought against them. I wanted to, but my dad told me to watch my sister." He stopped again, than went on.

"Well, we won, but no matter how hard we looked, we couldn't find my dad. It took us a while to finally except that Team Rocket had caught him, or that he had died. After that, my sister and I decided to leave Orre. I thought we would travel together, but she surprised me with hat one. She said she wanted to travel on her own, start over, and find her own destiny in the world. So, we took our different paths, and promised that they would one day cross."

"And along your path you found Silver?" Espeon asked cautiously. Umbreon laughed.

"You could better say that he found me. That's another really long story," he sounded like he was going to elaborate, but Espeon cut in.

"You're lucky, Umbreon," said Espeon.

"Huh? How's that?" Umbreon asked.

"You're so… relaxed," Espeon told him, "You take life as it comes at you, and you don't worry about it. You know who you are and like it the way it is."

"No one ever got anywhere by worrying. Or by keeping quiet. If you want the world to know how you feel, then just tell it. What's it going to do?" Umbreon said it all so naturally.

"Well…" started Espeon, thinking of the many horrible things the world could do to you, but she kept quiet.

"Give it a try. Tell the world that it's going to have to live with you just being you, even if it doesn't like it. It worked for me," he looked at Espeon, "So what do you think?"

"I think... I feel tired now," said Espeon sheepishly.

At this, Umbreon could only laugh.


	12. Deception Doesn't Last Forever

You'll notice that this part of the chapter is told from her Houndour's point of view. I did this because Houndour didn't fully understand the situation, and if I didn't it would give away some important secrets that will be revealed later.

Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon

(RE)EDITED

* * *

Houndour patiently waited behind his master. She seemed in a particularly bad mood, so he didn't do anything to disturb her. Especially since he had just given her a serious rib injury. He recalled the incident guiltily.

She stood and stared out across the moat that surrounded the city for a while, and then headed back to the room they had previously been. Unlike his mistress, Houndour remembered the events clearly. After he had "accidentally" crashed into Virus, Silver had paused for a moment to look back. He left when Houndour gave him an angry snarl from where he was still a little dazed on the ground. He wasn't letting anyone near his trainer when she was hurt! Especially someone she didn't like. He had giving this message to the other Team Snagem members that had tried to bother her afterwards, as well. Hey, chances were she didn't like _them_ too much either.

When she had finally recovered enough to get moving, Virus reentered the old PokeMart that wasn't really used by Snagem for much besides storage. She scanned to room suspiciously, as if not quite believing her captives were gone.

"Search for anything that smells like those three," she demanded, pointing at the ground.

Houndour took a brief moment to wonder why she wanted him to do this, but then quickly dismissed the question. She probably just wanted to know more about the captives. Yes, that had to be it. That was the sort of smart thing his under-appreciated trainer would do. He eagerly set to work, sniffing the floor avidly. After he had searched for a few minutes, Virus asked:

"Houndour, was it you who knocked me over?" His befuddled trainer was regaining some of her memory. Houndour couldn't lie to her. He whimpered softly and gave her an apologetic look. At first, Virus gave him an angry glare, but then decided it wasn't worth it and rolled her eyes and turned away.

"Ahah!" Virus snatched something off the floor triumphantly. Houndour couldn't see exactly what it was. He came forward to investigate.

Virus was holding a single human hair. Houndour wondered why she found this valuable. Humans could be so weird. She started out of the room and Houndour followed. They headed around the cliff edge and into the underground base. From there they went from hallway to hallway to Virus's own, personal quarters. Houndour eagerly curled up on his small doggy-bed, tired after the day's events. Virus started up her computer. The bright glow and low hum filled the room. Houndour yawned and looked up to examine what his trainer was doing.

Virus clicked multiple keys and moved the mouse around. She then gave a frustrated groan. A password was needed to let her continue. She'd do what she usually did in these situations. Tried to guess the password. It sometimes worked. Houndour drifted to sleep as Virus worked. Several swear words came out of her mouth from time to time, from being impatient.

Houndour was rudely awakened by a victorious shout from Virus. Curious, he came up to investigate. On the screen were a bunch of letters he couldn't understand, and a photo. It looked familiar, but he couldn't place it right away. Computers didn't give off a smell. Finally, he recognized it as the girl from the room. She looked different. As Virus scanned the page, Houndour began to sense an unease coming from her. Slowly, it grew to an anxiety. He shifted where he was sitting. Virus usually didn't get nervous.

She abruptly got up and marched out of the room, Houndour sprinting faithfully at her side. They ran down multiple hallways. Houndour was confused. Where were they going? They arrived in front of a room that smelled strongly of oak wood and air freshener. The boss's room. Houndour had only been there twice before.

Virus stepped in _without an invitation_. That was new. The boss seemed surprised to see her. _You're not the only one,_ thought Houndour. Today was just full of surprises.

"What's going on?" she asked him coldly. She was mad at him.

Their conversation started with harsh voices, but then grew into a full- fledged argument. Houndour covered his ears to keep from going deaf. He wasn't sure what this was about, but he was scared. Something like this had never happened before. Virus respected the boss. He looked at the boss's Jolteon.

"What are they going on about?" he asked. Jolteon glanced at him, but then his eyes went back to his master. But Houndour had seen his eyes. He was nervous. Jolteon was never, ever _afraid_.

* * *

That night Espeon had a dream. She was back on the lake. The one with a red theme. This time, someone else was there. 

"Who are you?" asked Espeon, trying to hide the fact that she was afraid. This place terrified her. The creature in front of her was huge and blue. It had a long, flowing purple mane, and two ribbons for tails. A blue crest sat upon its head.

"Who are_ you_?" replied the creature.

"I asked first," Espeon pointed out. The creature laughed.

"The important thing is that I know who I am. What difference does it make if you know? I'm just testing if you know who you are," he, for it sounded male, stated simply.

"But... I'm Espeon. I know who I am," she was confused.

"Are you sure?" asked the creature.

"Of course I'm sure. I'm me. That's not hard to figure out," Espeon was a bit surprised at how sure of herself she sounded.

"You weren't so sure before tonight,"said the stranger.

"Huh?" asked Espeon.

"If Umbreon hadn't shown you integrity, you wouldn't be so caught up in being yourself," he explained.

"What?" Espeon shook her head, "Who are you? How do you know what happened?" This was irritating. That had been a _private_ conversation.

"I know a lot of what has happened to you," the creature told her.

"Yeah, but _how_?" asked Espeon.

"I am the North Wind. One of a forgotten legend. I know these things by ways lost long ago," he said cryptically.

"Why are you here? How…? When…?" the creature waited patiently for her to finish a question.

"One at a time, please," he requested.

"Okay. Why are you here?" Espeon asked.

"I'm here to help," he said blandly.

"How? Do you understand what's been happening to me?" Espeon asked curiously. Was it possible that someone knew what was going on?

"Isn't answering your questions helping? Yes, I know what has been happening. Would you like me to explain?" he offered.

"That would be nice," stated Espeon.

"You received a vision. You were in the same place, at different times," he motioned to the surrounding area pointedly. Espeon wondered what he meant, before it dawned on her. The red scene and the clear blue one. They were both visions of the future, just different points of it. Which one was first, then? The red had appeared to her first, so did it mean that something bad was going to happen before peace?

"Why is this happening to me?" Espeon asked, defeated.

"It happened to you because you could, and _would_, do something about it," the pokemon, or at least Espeon assumed he was a pokemon, said.

"So… it wasn't for any particular reason?" Espeon inquired.

"Yes, it was. I told you. You would do something about it."

"Huh?"

"Would you admit, that if you hadn't seen what you did, you would still be in that laboratory, perfectly content?" asked the creaturein a very serious tone.

Espeon was stunned. Now that she had been asked the question, she knew the answer. She would be back there. She would be perfectly content to stay there. It made her burn with shame.

"But you're not, are you?" he whispered, "You're here now."

"What's… going on? Why are we here? Who is Team Snagem? And what about Silver and Umbreon?" Espeon wanted to change that subject, and fast.

"You'll have to be more specific on the first one. You're here because this is where Team Snagem brought you. Team Snagem is an organization, an old one. They were brought back together a few years ago. They're true intentions, I don't know. I don't think that most members even know," he said the last sentence as if it were some sort of bad omen.

"Why… why did I meet Growlie and the others? And… and why is there a Lugia trapped there?" She figured the pokemon would know whatshe meant by "there".

"Now you're just trying to make this conversation longer. You met your friends, and they met you. There isn't a real reason _why_. As for Lugia… he was caught by humans and is now confined there," as he mentioned Lugia, his voice went low, and he sounded sad, "Lugia, was a friend of mine," he answered Espeon's unasked question.

"Why did they put him there?" she murmured quietly. She was now thoroughly interested in the subject.

"Why does anything happen?" laughed the stranger, "He was a leader in the pokemon side of the army. They knew capturing him would hurt the pokemon side. I do think the pokemon should do something about it. They relied too much on him. This is proof of that."

"Relied on him to much?" Espeon asked.

"Lugia was a great leader. He spoke of his beliefs, and others followed him in admiration. Although, he wasn't too open-minded."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You need to know everything, don't you?" sighed the pokemon, who seemed to be tiring of this endless conversation, "To Lugia, everything is black or white, right or wrong. There's nothing in between."

"What's in between?"

"Well… let's take your knew friends for example. Silver and Umbreon. If Lugia knew them, he would assume right away that they weren't good people because they are thieves. But are they bad? They've been hospitable enough. They gave you food and shelter. And what did they ask for in return? Nothing," he seemed satisfied with his answer, as if he had explained something that was very hard for him to explain.

Espeon was speechless for a moment. She'd never really looked this far into individual beliefs before. He was pretty deep.

"If that's all, I'll be off," he turned to leave, and took a great leap over the water.

"Wait!" cried Espeon, "What's your name?" Her voice died out as he landed, and the water/blood under his feet turned crystal blue. The color spread, sweeping across the land and sea, until it reached the horizon. The red sun in the sky seemed to brighten and become more friendly as the crimson tint left the area, leaving it beautiful and sparkling. He turned to face her.

"I'm Suicune, the North Wind," he laughed, bounding away.

"Wait, one more question!" shouted Espeon, as he disappeared into the forest surrounding the area, "Why is there a war? Why were the pokemon and humans separated?" She couldn't see him anymore, but she could hear his laughter.

"You're on the road to discovering that one! You've even got a map for it!"


	13. Back Down the Rabbit Hole

Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon

(RE)EDITED

* * *

Maddy yawned and started to get out of bed, something she usually didn't do right away. She typically would just lie there for a half an hour or so. Today the mattress felt weird, though. Wait a minute… this wasn't her room! 

She sat bolt upright. Blue-green walls surrounded her, and she was lying on a tile floor with a quilt thrown over her.

"Relax, will you?" Maddy turned to see Silver drop the last few feet off the stone wall that led down here. She looked blankly at the boy who looked so drastically different from the boys she was used to seeing in Sapphire City. He was more, how do you put it, rugged-looking. Maddy would probably notice him enough to give him a second glance if she saw him walking along the streets of Sapphire. The kid looked like he had spent his entire life in the desert.

"What are you doing here?" asked Maddy, her voice calm now that her panic attack was over.

"Well, one, this is my home, and your friend was starting to think you'd never get up." It kind of annoyed Maddy that he spoke so casually, or maybe it was just because her question had such an obvious answer. She was about to answer with a snappy remark when Silver seemed to lose interest in her. He turned towards the other end of the room.

"Umbreon, time to wake up," Silver said, nudging the black ball lying curled up on the floor with his boot. Umbreon stirred, but ignored Silver.

"Umbreon, I mean now," said Silver, bending on one knee to level himself with Umbreon more.

_No, not now, I was up kind of late last night, try calling again… maybe two hours from now_, thought Umbreon in a slightly annoyed tone.

"Umbreon, I mean it, time to get up," said Silver, more urgently now, getting impatient. It didn't really help to hear Maddy laughing.

"Well, I'll find everyone else while you attempt the impossible," she said as she tried to suppress her chuckles, and failed miserably. She climbed up the makeshift ladder and into the ruined city above.

* * *

Danny stood at the edge of a dusty canyon deep into the city. What was it called? Pyrite, Silver had told him it was called Pyrite. There was a short, dangling rope on the other side, the only evidence that there had ever been a bridge there. On the opposite side there was a curious looking building...

"No," said Maddy, walking up beside him.

"Huh?" said Danny, snapping back to reality.

"No one is levitating me across that gap," she said pointing to the opposite side of the chasm.

"I wasn't thinking of lifting you across!" snapped Danny defensively.

"Yeah? Well, you can never be too careful," she said, then she looked around, "Where are Growlie and Espeon?"

"No idea, they went off with Umbreon somewhere."

"Somewhere" turned out to be an abandoned news station near where Maddy and Danny were. Televisions and microphones hooked up to cables were littered across the floor and wallpaper was torn and tattered revealing sand colored walls. Somewhere among the dust and dirt were Espeon and Growlie following Umbreon, who was giving them a tour somewhere on the first floor.

"Big hole," said Growlie, gazing down the dark abyss.

"Yeah," said Umbreon, now awake, peering over Growlie's shoulder. The puppy had discovered a gaping hole in the corner of the building,

"It leads down into the Under," Umbreon informed him. Growlie kept gazing downward in wonder. Espeon was examining a broken T.V. at the building entrance with her head cocked to one side.

"Umbreon, why was this place abandoned? It looks like it must have run well at some point," she asked.

"Not exactly sure," said Umbreon, "Silver told me that something really bad happened, like a-"

"War?" asked Espeon, in a distant, yet knowing voice.

"Exactly," said Umbreon, "Anyway, the place was abandoned, but you know what confuses me? The war never even got near here. It wasn't even a threat, but everyone left anyway. And lots of people died here too, mysteriously. And no one knows why."

"Weird," said Espeon.

"Yeah, that's kind of why we're still here, me and Silver. He's obsessed with discovering what happened to this place, and everything around it that was deserted for the same reason. He wants to know why Team Snagem is here and where they came from, and if a certain member will marry him…" he added the last part with a hint of annoyance, enhanced by the rolling of his eyes.

"Are you talking about who I think you're talking about?" asked Espeon, appearing alarmed.

"Well, I just don't get what he sees in her…" Umbreon trailed off.

"So, people died here?" asked Growlie, finally catching up with this conversation, and interrupting the other two, then a mischievous grin appeared on his face, "So this place is haunted!" he shouted gleefully, then he let out a piercing ghostly howl.

"Sorry, Growlie, I'm not scared. Your going to have to do better than that," teased Umbreon.

"You couldn't do any better!" said Growlie. He was young, but he recognized a challenge when he heard one.

"I could, but Espeon wanted me to give her a… tour of the building. There's a big cave on top even."

"She did not!" shouted Growlie.

"Relax, pup, you don't need to get really angry…" Umbreon muttered. Growlie's face went from angry to surprised.

"See? Just a joke," shrugged Umbreon.

"You, um, said something about a tour, Umbreon?" asked Espeon timidly.

"Right," said Umbreon, happy to have a purpose, "Right this way. Walk carefully, these stairs are kind of unstable."

He led them up a pair of stairs filled with lose floorboards. Stepping carefully, he heard Growlie say:

"Something stinks," said the puppy. Umbreon looked towards the top of the stair well and their eyes widened in surprise. A purple creature lay coiled at the top. Umbreon's eyes went wide.

"What's that?" asked Espeon quietly.

"Bad," said Umbreon, "What's an _Arbok_ doing here? The only one seen in Orre for who-knows-how-long was captured by Team Snagem and was exported years ago…" He stopped, realizing he was talking to himself and it wasn't helping.

"Down," he whispered harshly, "Don't wake it up," he put one paw behind him and began treading backwards. Espeon followed suit, but Growlie couldn't quite get the hang of it. He tripped over his feet and fell down a few steps before Espeon caught him, giving a slight whimper as he went. The Arbok stirred and gave a hiss.

_Great, _thought Umbreon, _it's a light sleeper._ He cursed silently to himself. Espeon put Growlie down. At the pace they were going, they were only half way down. The Arbok lifted its great cobra head and turned a sleepy gaze at the three, now frozen in place.

"No," he said, in a tone that indicated he was still sleepy, "Keep going back, a few more steps ought to do it."

"W-What?" Umbreon managed to regain his speech for the moment.

"I said, go back a few more steps," said Arbok, in an annoyed tone, as if what he was saying had a completely obvious meaning and the fact Umbreon didn't understand made him an idiot.

"Why?" demanded Umbreon. The other two couldn't really bring themselves to say anything. Umbreon had said that this was a dangerous situation, but not how dangerous. As an answer, the snake lifted his mighty head high above the ground, his neck flattened into a venom-spitting pose. He gave a heart-stopping hiss.

"Run!" shouted Umbreon. They might get injured if they fell, but there was a more likely chance of the Arbok poisoning them.

Before either Umbreon, Espeon, or Growlie could take a single step, there was a piercing crack, and the ground beneath them fell a few inches and froze. Then it completely gave away, sending all three falling.

"Aaah!" cried Umbreon.

"Aaah!" agreed Espeon.

"Aaah!" howled Growlie.

The fall didn't end where it should have, at ground level. They kept falling a way after that. Arbok slithered over lazily to look down. He saw the trio through hole in the stairs just before they disappeared.

"My work here, is done," he said in his same tired voice before heading up the stairs to the roof of the former ONBS news station headquarters.


	14. New to this Tale

Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon

(RE)EDITED

* * *

"Okay," Umbreon's dizzy groan echoed through the dark chamber, "What just happened?"

Two equally dizzy groans answered him. Espeon got up slowly and when most of the fuzziness left her head, shook the water from her fur. They were in a dark room, dark enough so that she couldn't see her friends right in front of her, and she was ankle deep in water.

"How did water get down here?" ESpeon asked absently.

"Water?" asked Growlie, thoughtful, "Growlie isn't on water."

"Yeah, Growlie, that would be me," Umbreon's voice sounded strained with effort to breath with the puppy on him.

"Oh…" Growlie started. Before he could comprehend what Umbreon was saying, the black pokemon hauled himself up and sent Growlie sprawling.

"Well, this is new," said Umbreon, his easy-going attitude prevailing yet again. He scanned the room, but saw nothing but darkness, "Wonder what's down here?"

"Black," said Growlie, "Lots and lots of black. And water."

As he spoke, there was a faint glow. The source, it seemed, was Umbreon. The yellow circles covering his body were emitting a shining yellow light.

"Darn it!" shouted Umbreon, looking down at himself, "I hate it when this happens…"

"No, Umbreon!" said Espeon, "Now we have some light! Keep doing that, we have to find an exit."

"That's a problem!" whined Umbreon, "I have no idea how I'm doing this!" But Espeon had already started looking around, calling for Umbreon to come on.

"Growlie likes Umbreon's glowy rings!" said Growlie with enthusiasm, tail wagging, "They look like Christmas lights!" He fondly recalled the glowing trees he saw through the windows all around Sapphire City.

"Thanks, Growlie," said Umbreon sourly.

"You're welcome!" Growlie yipped. The two caught up with Espeon, wadding her way through the darkness.

"Exactly, what is this place?" Espeon asked curiously, looking at what she had found.

In the faint glow of Umbreon's rings, the trio could see a pile of broken boards, with a few scattered books. They lay floating above the water, half dissolved. The multi-colored books were now soaked and less than paper- thin. Umbreon put his paw on top of a dislocated book cover and it broke into four distinct pieces as soon as he touched it.

"Okay…" muttered Umbreon, slightly unnerved.

They walked around the center of the room, and it became obvious what it was.

"This place is… a library," said Espeon finally, "A library that's practically been dissolved in water, and now this is what's left: broken shelves and tattered books." Growlie and Umbreon couldn't help but agree with her.

"It's weird," said Umbreon, disturbed, "I've been all over this city, and I've never seen an inch of this place. And Silver pours over old history documents about this place. He never mentioned an underground library."

"Maybe no one wanted anyone to know about this place?" suggested Espeon.

While Umbreon and Espeon had been having this conversation, Growlie had comprehended this information in his own way. From what he could draw, he had just one question to ask.

"Why are books always in holes?" he asked quizzically, his face distorted in concentration.

Umbreon couldn't even begin to understand what this meant, but it took a second for Espeon to get it.

"Oh yeah…" she thought distantly back to when Maddy had nearly fallen to her death, "Back in the city."

"Um, hello?" Umbreon asked, "Did I miss something?"

* * *

"Exactly what is he looking for?" asked Silver.

"Huh?" was what Maddy tried to say, but her mouth was so stuffed with food that it came out as indistinguishable gibberish. The two were in the room in which she and her friends had first seen coming down into the Under.

"He's been here less then twenty four hours, and I've found him snooping in every inch of the Under. And when I asked him he said he was looking for _collectors coins_," Silver finished in disbelief.

"Uh…" Maddy swallowed her food and thought about what to say. She knew perfectly well that Danny was looking for whatever was marked on his constantly-obsessed-over map, but she wasn't exactly sure how to explain that to Silver, or if she _wanted_ to explain it to him. She also concluded that Danny wasn't the best liar. This kind of led into an awkward silence.

"You either don't know or don't want to tell me?" guessed Silver, looking at the expression on Maddy's face. That pretty much summed it up.

"Maddy, can you come here for a second?" Danny's strained voice interrupted their conversation.

"I don't know," she called back, "Do I want to?"

"He probably can't find this," said Silver, holding up Danny's oh-so-precious-star-covered map.

"What-" Maddy spat up the coke she was drinking.

"I'm a thief, remember?" said Silver, glancing over the paper curiously. Danny chose this precise moment to step into the room.

"Hey!" he snapped, trying to grab the page from Silver's hands. Silver, being several inches taller than Danny, simply lifted the map high above the other boy's head. He then handed it back with a shrug. Danny snatched it out of his hands and began looking over it fearfully.

_You'd think that thing was worth some actual cash_, Maddy thought, rolling her eyes.

Silver stepped behind Danny and peered over his shoulder.

"What are the stars for?" Silver asked curiously. Danny glanced up at him, and then turned at an angle so Silver couldn't see.

"Hey! I _did_ bust you out of Snagem's base, don't I deserve to know exactly why you were there?" Silver protested.

Maddy wanted to scream. _It's just a stupid map!_

Danny, on the other hand, looked like was considering what Silver was saying. They probably did owe him one.

"Why are you guys in Orre, anyway?" Silver asked.

Danny looked at Maddy. She wasn't sure whether he was asking her permission, or he wanted her to get him out of this inescapable situation. Silver stood waiting patiently.

* * *

"You spent most of your life in a _cage_?" Umbreon wasn't hiding the surprise in his voice. He wasn't trying to offend anyone, but he himself probably couldn't survive four minutes in the cramped, routine life Espeon had described in her story.

"Well, yes, but I did get fed up with it, and I broke out," Espeon said uncomfortably, trying to defend herself, as if being comfortable in a cage was a crime.

"After you had that vision?" Umbreon repeated what she had been telling him.

"Yeah," Espeon nodded.

"And then Growlie found Espeon!" yipped Growlie excitedly, "She was all alone… so Growlie said hi and they became friends!"

* * *

"But Espeon still wanted to find out about what she had seen," explained Maddy, "So Growlie led her to me because he knew I could help her." 

"And she broke into the building, but security caught her in Espeon's old room. Then she was thrown into the same room as me," continued Danny.

* * *

"Well, I was getting worried, so I went in after Maddy," said Espeon. 

"And then _Growlie_ got scared, so he went in too!" the puppy added enthusiastically.

And so, Growlie and Umbreon relayed their adventure to Umbreon and Danny and Maddy told Silver all about it. Then they waited uneasily to see their reaction. They had never actually told anyone what they were up to.

"Why didn't you guys tell me this earlier?" exclaimed Umbreon, "Sounds like you've had a heck of an adventure!"

* * *

"So this thing really leads you to places like the one right outside your city?" Silver asked, "Why didn't you just ask? I could show you a bunch of suspicious places."

Danny and Maddy stared at him strangely.

"You'd help us?" asked Danny uncomfortably.

"You kidding? I've been waiting my whole life for an adventure like this!" Silver bent excitedly over Danny's map.

_Five minutes and he's already gone over to the dark side_, sighed Maddy.


	15. More than One Team Involved

Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon.

(RE)EDITED

* * *

"You have got to be the laziest creature that has ever walked the planet!" screeched Mightyena. Why him? Out of every possible pokemon Team Rocket owned, he had to be stuck with this slow-moving-always-sleeping-never-gets-the-job-done _snake_!

Arbok lifted his head in a tired manner. "You wanted them down the hole, and they fell. I did what you told me too," he countered.

Mightyena held his breath and started counting slowly to ten, but before he could get to five Arbok asked:

"What's wrong? Your face is kind of red..."

Mightyena exploded.

"You were supposed to get them down there! All of them! _That includes the humans!_" he screamed.

"Well you don't have to shout so loud…" Arbok's ears were on the verge of popping, he had gone into a cringing position during his partner's rampage, but now he lifted his coiled head in defiance.

"Let's just go report…" Mightyena's head now hung with dread and his voice was quiet.

Arbok, personally, was happy that Mightyena hadn't decided on killing him. He wisely slithered silently behind Mightyena and made his way into the cave that Team Rocket was using as a spy lookout in Orre.

* * *

"So, exactly what are we supposed to do until the others get here?" Umbreon asked in a bored tone, pacing aimlessly in circles. 

They weren't really worried about their well being at the moment. The answer was simple. They had searched the room looking for an exit, but all they had found was a dent in the wall that wouldn't budge. Growlie stayed by it, insisting he could smell the acidy streets of the Under down there. They had tried yelling for help, but it had just left them hoarse. The only thing they could do was wait. When the others went looking for them they would undoubtedly see the huge chasm opening up in the middle of the stairway. The only thing to do now was bide their time.

"Well, we could try reading these books. To find out exactly what they put down here," suggested Espeon. A book floated down from a shelf and stood suspended in the air in front of her. The pages rippled and began flipping madly.

"Come look," she said, gesturing for him to come near.

"Uh, reading, right…" Umbreon sneaked up behind Espeon and peered over her purple shoulder. The page was filled from edge to edge with tiny, typed printing. Obviously it was for advanced readers. Umbreon read aloud the words he understood.

"It, the, look, little…" he read choppily.

"Um, can you understand what the book's about. Umbreon?" asked Espeon, cautiously, she didn't want to hurt his feelings.

"Literature has never been one of my strong points," he answered sheepishly, "Silver tried to teach me, but it's kinda hard to make sense of a bunch of squiggly lines…"

"It's okay, I'll do the reading. You'll just have to stay nearby so I can see, okay?" she tried to make Umbreon feel like he was needed, and apparently it worked.

"Alright then," he said, inching closer, his mood lifting slightly.

"Can Growlie help, too?" they both turned to see an eager red puppy with black stripes looking at them.

"Sure Growlie," a slightly embarrassed Espeon said, "why don't you go try to find an exit one more time?"

Growlie's face fell, "But I want to read the books, too," he whined.

"Are you sure you can read Growlie?" asked Espeon uncertainly.

"Let me see!" Growlie insisted.

Espeon levitated the book down to his level to let him have a go. The puppy's voice rang clearly and fluently throughout the silent chamber.

"In order to make sure all is as it seems, test the chemical by running hot water over it for ten minutes…"

"Growlie! You _can_ read!" Espeon exclaimed.

"Uhuh," said the puppy, happily wagging his tail.

"Alright, grab another book and we can get two done at once…"

Nobody seemed to notice the fallen look on Umbreon's face, or the slouched position in which his shoulders had fallen.

"So what happened with your escape route, Growlie? I thought you could smell the Under through that wall of yours," Umbreon desperately wanted to get away from any type of writing.

"It opened," said Growlie, absorbed in the book he was reading.

"Huh?" asked Umbreon. He hadn't really expected that answer.

"It opened up into the Under, just like Growlie's nose said," The puppy turned to Umbreon, his tail wagging, oblivious to what Umbreon's actual intentions had been.

"Really Growlie? Then why didn't you say so?" the book Espeon had been holding with her mind snapped shut, "We'd better go find the others and tell them about this place. _And_ all that happened to get us here." Espeon wondered about the Arbok. He had to have known about this library or he wouldn't have made them come down here. But why...?

Growlie led the way with his tail held high towards the exit he had found, and the other two realized why they hadn't been able to open it before. They had been trying to open it from the side, but it was actually a hole in the _floor._

It was a small drop onto an extended platform that was built like a fire escape. In the center was what looked like an elevator shaft, long out of usage. They stared down uneasily. The suspended part was in easy jumping range. They could land on it without injuries simply, and use Espeon's levitation abilities if needed. What they were unsure about was stability. The platform was made of loose metal wiring, and it was so old it might cave under their weight.

The ground below that was not a pleasant site. It was _really_ far down, and ended with smashing into cold concrete. The cement-covered ground was covered in slime and was bordered by what looked like a giant heap (or river) of liquid garbage waste. Not a pleasant site.

"Um, that doesn't exactly look safe, Growlie," said Espeon, her former confidence and authority draining.

"Yeah…" agreed the puppy. He hadn't taken time to fully breath in the situation before. Literally as well as metaphorically. The place reeked.

"We won't know until we try," and with that, Umbreon took a deep breath, and jumped.

* * *

Silver stood above a black crevice and looked downward. He couldn't see the bottom clearly, it was too far down. But pretty much every logical nerve in his body screamed that this was where his best friend and new friends were. Maddy leaned over his shoulder.

"Espeon, Umbreon, Growlie? Hello?" she called down. It was strange. The three pokemon had been in the building a few moments ago...

Growlie was the last one that was to go down. As he turned to jump, he heard Maddy call down, her voice faint. There was no echoed in a chamber cluttered with books.

"We're coming!" he said irritably, "We're going to meet you back in the Under!" His annoyed tone made it's way faintly to Maddy's ears. She blinked in confusion.

* * *

No sooner had they found an exit to that vile smelling room had Umbreon figured out where they were. He excitedly led them through varying twist and turns until they reached a point in the Under right outside Umbreon's home. 

The trio now had three things on their minds: sleep, water, and food.

"Well, what do you know?" Silver stated, arms crossed in front of him and head cocked in front of him, as the three humans of the group entered his home. He saw three dazed pokemon, surrounded by the contents of his kitchen, lying on the floor. Umbreon was already half asleep.

"This was a tremendously great way to spend our day!" exclaimed Maddy, throwing her hands up in the air, "Searching the city from dawn till dusk and they just pop up in front of us! Just where have you guys been?"

The pokemon were too tired to explain right now, and with full stomachs and warmed fur, they were about ready to collapse. Silver saw this and had no objections to a good nights sleep, and Danny pointedly agreed, so Maddy's demands would have to wait untill later.

After some food the other three decided it was time for them to go to bed. Searching the entire area of Pyrite hadn't exactly been a fun ordeal, and boredom often makes you feel tired after the first few hours or so.

* * *

Umbreon silently arose from his sleeping position, wide awake, and made his way towards the shelf that Silver had crammed with books about the history of both Pyrite and the Under, some math, trivia, and other school subjects that Silver had tried to learn when he had time. He had once tried to teach Umbreon to read, but Umbreon hadn't really been interested. He had also tried math, which, besides the basics, had been a horrible failure, and I'd rather not report the details. 

But Umbreon wasn't really concerned with history or math at the moment.

He spotted it, a tall blue book, but with few pages. On the plastic cover, it had a simple picture of a child's wooden building block with a bright red capital letter "A", and you could see part of the B on the 3-D figure. The top and bottom edges were colored yellow.

He caught the corner with his mouth and yanked it off the shelf. He swiveled around and came in full view of the room he and Silver, temporarily with two pairs of humans and pokemon, called home. He was facing the kitchen, which had formerly been a registration desk. Thin wall acting as a counter surrounded it, and then people would enter through a flap in the middle that could be easily lifted. Inside of it were a mini-refrigerator and a microwave. The models were kind of old fashioned, but they worked efficiently and no one was complaining.

Silver was aroused from his sleep when a paper-back book was thrown into his lap. He opened his eyes groggily and stared at Umbreon's reading book. He turned and saw the black and yellow pokemon beside him, staring at the book. Umbreon turned to meet Silver's gaze, and with a determined look in his eyes he said, even if Silver couldn't understand him:

"Don't just sit there, you dope. Open it up and start teaching!"


	16. Even the Cowardly have to take Charge

Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon

(RE)EDITED

* * *

Houndour was beyond angry. _Livid_ was more of a word for it. The little amount of tolerance he had had burned away a long time ago.

Virus was gone. Plain and simple. She had disappeared before he even had time to blink. Okay, so it had probably been longer than that, but he had a short attention span.

So after searching all of the dead end scent trails in the base, he had decided to go to the one person who knew almost everything, in his point of view, at least.

Houndour had finally found Jolteon in a place he had never been before. His nose had lead him down, down, down a steep hill by the makeshift prison that had housed Maddy, Danny, and Growlie for a short period of time, which used to be an old pokemon center. He continued his search after falling down the last part.

After cussing himself and the world out, he found himself at the entrance to a cave. It was covered with moss, vines, and leaves that had made it seem like a wall that led to nowhere, but if you looked closely enough, you could find that it was, in fact, a cave. He squinted to get a better look.

Houndour shook his head to clear it. He was tired, his head hurt from the fall, and his eyes were watery. Not to mention he wasn't used to squinting real hard.

But sure enough, this is where Jolteon had gone. His nose told him so. He plunged forward in to the mess. He bit and snapped at the vines as if they were a formidable enemy.

When he finally broke free, he gave them one last sniff and growled.

"Thought you could defeat me, huh?" he said to the blockade, giving an arrogant snort. Then he turned his back on them abruptly…

… And came face to face with the very person he had been looking for.

Houndour gave a yelp of surprise, and fell backwards onto his back.

"What are you doing?" asked Jolteon with a quizzical look on his face. Houndour quickly scrambled to his feet.

"Jolteon!" Houndour stammered, "I was just... Wait, what are you doing here?"

"Meditating," said Jolteon calmly.

Houndour blinked. Meditating? He had never pictured Jolteon as the meditating type. He had always pictured Jolteon spending his spare time brutally training and pushing himself to the physical limit. How else could he have gotten so huge?

"Did you need me for something?" asked Jolteon, a curious expression forming on his face. Houndour suddenly remembered what he was here for.

"Where's Virus?" he almost shouted, more of a demand than a question.

Jolteon gave Houndour a strange look, and stared at him long and hard. He looked away just as Houndour started to get uncomfortable.

"Well?" Houndour asked.

Then Jolteon did one of those weird things that he always did that made all the pokemon in Team Snagem think he was a litle off his rocker. He started laughing.

It was strange really. He wasn't falling over on the floor and rolling over. He was just laughing, his broad shoulders shaking.

Houndour took a step back, this being his first real meeting with the Team's pokemon leader, he hadn't known what to expect. Definitely not this, in any case.

Jolteon slowly stopped, and then looked back up at Houndour.

"Sorry," said Jolteon with a shrug, "I just never expected you to ask that."

"Huh?" asked Houndour, surprised he was able to speak at all.

"I'm surprised that you care," said Jolteon, his calm aura returning.

This time Houndour could only stare blankly, but a jolt went through him before the other pokemon could say anything.

"You're surprised that I care about my trainer?" he snapped as Jolteon was opening his mouth to say more.

"Well, you certainly don't show it," said Jolteon, more of a statement than a defense.

"Well for your information, I do so care!" Houndour growled, "Now where is she?!" This one had Jolteon thinking.

"I'm not supposed to tell you that," he said after a pause.

"What?!" Houndour was once again furious. Jolteon sighed deeply, and then he turned around.

"Follow me," he said. What else was Houndour supposed to do? The dog pokemon padded after the elecrtic one.

Jolteon led him through the interior of the cave. Houndour was distracted by the sights. It was like… he didn't know what to compare it to, really. The ground was made of dirt and grass, and the entire cave was lined with green stuff that looked like moss. They came to a place where the ground caved into a ditch. Jolteon leaped gracefully across. Houndour looked at the indent with curiosity.

"Coming?" asked Jolteon.

"What's this for?" he asked, surprised with himself. Why did he care?

"The river used to flow through here," said Jolteon passively. Looking at the ditch, Houndour saw that it could, logically, once have had a rushing river to fill it.

After a big jump across, Houndour barely had time to think before they headed into a blinding tunnel of light. He blinked and tried to open his eyes. What was this place? What he saw was an image that would forever stick in his mind.

He was on a stone platform in the middle of a forest. Light fluttered through the trees' lush green leaves. He could've sworn he heard a melody playing in the distance. In the center of the platform was what looked like a pile of rocks. Houndour stared at it with a puzzled expression. What was the point of that?

But all in all, the place was… Houndour paused for a second here, thinking of a word to describe it.

Beautiful.

"Peaceful, isn't it?" asked Jolteon. He was near the "pile of rocks". Looking closer, Houndour saw that it was made of thick, circular slabs stacked unevenly one on top of the other. Strange.

"Ahuh," said Houndour with awe.

"Perfect if you just want to relax," said Jolteon with a nod, "Now, you wanted to know about Virus?"

Houndour snapped back to reality.

"Yes," he said, eyes narrowing.

"I'll tell you this," said Jolteon, striding closer to Houndour, "She's far, far away from here. She's in a place called Sapphire City."

"I'll go get her then!' Houndour shot back, determination in his voice, "I'll bring her back and everything will be like it was before." Yes, that was what Houndour wanted. Virus had disappeared only a little while ago, but already things without a trainer were beginning to bother him. He couldn't even get into their room! He had never before realized how much he relied on his trainer. Now he didn't know what to do.

"Meaning yesterday?" asked Jolteon.

"Yes!" barked Houndour. Jolteon sighed and gave Houndour a sympathetic look.

"Yesterday's gone, Houndour," said Jolteon sadly.

"I didn't mean go back in time! No one can do that!" growled Houndour.

"No," said Jolteon, shaking his head, "I mean that if you go to Virus, you'll be betraying Team Snagem."

Houndour's heart nearly stopped. His disbelieving look gave away the fact that he was lost for words.

"Snagem wants you to be here, and Virus to be there," continued Jolteon, "If you go, then you can never come back. You'll be on your own."

This question seriously made Houndour think. He honestly considered not going. More than considered it.

"What happens if I stay here?" asked Houndour suspiciously.

"We assign you to a new trainer and things go on "like they did yesterday"," Jolteon said the last words in a mocking tone. Houndour shifted uncomfortably. He wasn't brave. He didn't want to be. He wasn't noble. He didn't want to be that either. Going to Virus would be against his own nature.

"Is Virus safe, wherever she is?" he asked nervously.

"In a way of speaking, yes," said Jolteon stiffly. Houndour paid no attention to the disappointment in Jolteon's voice. This was enough for him.

"I think I'll stay here then," Houndour breathed, a little relieved. Now he wouldn't have to go on any journey, betray anyone, or make any enemies.

"I expected as much," said Jolteon with a sigh. He got up and began to walk towards the exit.

"Hey… wait!" shouted Houndour, scampering toward Jolteon, "You said she was safe, right?" he protested.

"Yes, but," started Jolteon, then in a sort of confession, "There's no fun in it this way… Guess you really aren't the exciting type…"

"What do you mean?" asked Houndour demandingly.

"I really thought I'd have an adventure here. Guess I was right, you really are boring."

Houndour really didn't have a taste for adventure, but he didn't like being insulted. His cheeks were already turning red.

"Alright!" he shouted, "I'll go on your stupid quest!"

Jolteon jerked in surprise, but then turned to Houndour.

"You really mean it?" Jolteon whispered.

"Yes…" mumbled Houndour, wondering what he had gotten himself into. Jolteon closed his eyes and started counting.

"One, two, three, four, five…"

"What… are you doing," asked Houndour nervously. Jolteon opened one eye and a mischievous grin appeared on his face.

"You're betraying Team Snagem," he said, grinning, "I'll give you a thirty second head start."

"But I thought you said this was going to be fun!" shouted Houndour, tensing.

"Has there ever been anything more fun than a nice game of cat and mouse?"

Houndour didn't need any more persuading. He bolted passed Jolteon and back into the cave, fear making his heart pound in his chest.

But there was a thrill there, too. Something he had never really experienced before.

"All right, to Sapphire City!" he shouted to himself.

Wait a minute… Where was Sapphire City?

* * *

Well, hope we all have a better understanding of Houndour now. 

As always, please review.


	17. Gray Situtations

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon

(RE)EDITED

* * *

Houndour was lazy, and as so, he didn't get out much. Whenever there was a mission he'd bribe or trick one of the other pokemon to go. Why not? They were better at that kind of stuff anyway. They'd get it done faster. Everyone was happy. So running for his life was a new experience for him. So was adrenaline, and panic. Needless to say, he had no idea what to do at the moment. Thinking on his feet wasn't one of his specialties.

Houndour's hearts momentarily stopped as a blaring alarm rang through his ears. His first thought was: _that bastard told me he'd give me thirty seconds! Not four!_ His second was some thing along the lines of: _Who cares? Run!_ Or something similar to that. It flashed by so quickly he barely even noticed as he tripped.

Houndour let out a loud howl of pain as his paw caught on something. He was jerked forward, then yanked back like a slingshot; only he didn't go that far. He got up whimpering. His foot felt like it had been yanked apart from his leg. Cautiously, he turned to look. His back paw was caught tight on a metal handle sticking up from the ground. He carefully removed it, practiced moving it, and then breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't broken.

He stood up and turned to the handle. It was part of what appeared to be a trap door, covered with moss and grass until it was barely visible, but something else about the door caught his attention. It was the scent on it.

_Those sneaky little pests,_ he thought, circling the perimeter of the door, and sniffing again. The scent of Silver and Umbreon was there, fresh. Panic was drowned out by a victorious feeling as he realized that this could give him a chance to catch Snagem's most annoying nuisance. Houndour allowed himself a moment of pride for his little discovery but then reality came back into place.

_Alarms._

_Running._

_Got it._

Panic gripped Houndour all the more fiercely. It had been way over thirty seconds! He had to move, now!

His first and most obvious thought was to use the door, so he tried to figure that one out.

He circled it, looking for an uneven edge. He found one, or many, actually, and tried to work his way under them. He dug, and tried to push his nose beneath. He yelped and pulled back. That thing had scraped his nose! He tried to paw at it to see the damage, but then stopped himself and tried again.

This time, his nose reached through the soil. He was through! He straightened and started digging avidly, determined to get through, only wondering briefly why Jolteon wasn't there yet to take him to the holding cells.

He stopped to take a breath, panting. He had made a good-sized hole, but it wasn't large enough for him to-

"Ah!" howled Houndour as the ground caved in from under him. He hit the floor a few feet later and let out a pathetic whimper. That had hurt.

He tried and failed to see through the veil of darkness surrounding him. _Now what?_

He took a step forward, and hit a wall. _Ow_. He chose another direction, moved forward a few feet, and ran into another wall. _Ow_. This wasn't working out so well, but he couldn't think of any other way. Jolteon would be there at any second!

So he trudged on. And on. And banged into a wall. And on…

* * *

"Seven…. Eight…. Nine…."

Jolteon opened one eye at the sound of the alarms, his mind quickly processing the information they produced. He instantly ruled out the fact that Houndour was the cause. Even if he had run outside, no one would know enough to set off the alarms at the sight of him, so there had to be another reason.

Jolteon leapt to his feet and charged out of the cave. He was the lead pokemon, so he needed to know what was going on.

Once out, he noticed other sounds besides the alarms. Shouting from humans and pokemon alike, and maybe even a gunshot or two.

He jumped over the river and started up the hill, muscles springing into action. Who were the attackers? The answer was soon clear. Along with the non-uniformed Snagem members, humans wearing a black suit with the letter R in the middle were everywhere.

_Team Rocket._ Jolteon was in a state of momentary shock.

Something slammed into his side and knocked him over. Jolteon quickly leapt to his feet and reared at his attacker, a huge black and gray pokemon.

"Hey, old pal, long time no see," sneered Mightyena. Jolteon's eyes narrowed.

"Mightyena," he said with a slow formality.

"Your pathetic Team couldn't last forever," Mightyena informed the electric type, "It was only a matter of time before we showed up. We always do."

Jolteon seethed, but tried not to show it. _Let him gloat_, the eon thought, _he doesn't even suspect that others might have some form of intelligence, and it will do me good to prove him wrong._

Then Jolteon did another one of those things that made all the pokemon at Snagem think he was off his rocker. Even as his Teammates were fighting around him, outnumbered, he smirked.

Without giving any hint of aggression, he threw himself at Mightyena.

* * *

Houndour groaned and opened his eyes, and wasn't surprised that he didn't want to open them. He was just too tired. He moaned loudly again, moments later regretting it.

"Look who's awake! Morning, sleepy head!" Umbreon's mocking tone rang out above him.

Houndour squeezed his eyes shut. _No. Please. No…_

"I know you're awake," said Umbreon, pawing at Houndour, "Up and at 'em! We've been told to watch you, and it's getting kind of boring."

"Please… just shut up," moaned Houndour. Why was this world so cruel? He had traveled underground for who knows how long and now this…

"Seriously, Houndour, wake up, I'm hungry," Umbreon's fake enthusiasm was fading into annoyance.

Houndour made sure to groan extra loudly as he slowly stood up. He let out a huge yawn. Questions started flowing through his head. Luckily, Umbreon didn't seem to against answering them.

"How'd I get here?" Houndour asked.

"We found you collapsed in the desert near the city," said Umbreon, smiling slightly, "Lucky for you. You'd probably be dead if your little hero hadn't smelled something with his all-powerful nose!"

Houndour growled lowly. He knew that Umbreon's joy was only from smugness,

"Hi!" came the happy voice of Growlie, who was currently at Umbreon's side.

Houndour looked at the little red puppy blankly, not knowing what to think.

"Where am I?" demanded Houndour, angry with himself for his weakness.

"Welcome to our lovely home!" Umbreon had obviously been waiting for this question, "Its complete with a kitchen, bookshelves, and the best comfort anyone can offer to someone stranded in the desert! Feel free to look around, but Maddy says that if you leave that blanket you're on right now I'll have to beat you until you lose consciousness."

Houndour looked around the room, and then at the red blanket beneath him. He looked from Growlie to Umbreon, and then from Umbreon to Growlie. At a loss of what to do, he collapsed and went back to sleep.

* * *

Thanks for reviewing, luhan. It is kind of strange because I always felt that I was writing this for only BFoS and Chaos Knux. Welcome to the club.

As always, please review.


	18. The Truth about Ancient Libraries

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.

(RE)EDITED

* * *

Meanwhile, before the location of Houndour, Maddy, Danny, Silver, Espeon, Umbreon, and Growlie had gone back to the hidden library to look for clues. They weren't looking for anything particular, but when you find an underground library half drowned below an abandoned city, you know it means _something_.

The exploration of the library took pretty much the whole day. Even getting down there had been quite a feat, but the fact is that they got there some way or another. Soon afterwards they began the slightly dull task of looking through pictureless, factual, and very wordy books. This was made even worse by the fact that they didn't even know what they were looking for. And even worse for Umbreon because he couldn't read, and therefore had to sit and just stay there for who-knows-how-long. So, naturally, it would be he who deemed the first complaint.

"I'm hungry! It's past lunchtime," he whined, boredom taking root in his system.

"Let's play a game!" the answer came out of Growlie's muzzle a fraction of a second after Umbreon's words had left his. Umbreon slowly turned his head towards Growlie.

"Got anything in mind?" asked Umbreon hopefully.

"We could play hide-and-go-seek!" replied Growlie eagerly, "Or tag!" At this, Growlie reached up and tapped his paw to Umbreon's shoulder saying, "You're it!" Umbreon groaned inwardly and sank to the floor. The darkness and boredom were making him tired, and Growlie's never-ending cycle of energy was making him dizzy.

Suddenly, Growlie stopped and stared straight at Umbreon, his eyes wide. He kept this up for a few uncomfortable seconds.

"What?" asked Umbreon irritably, bothered by the puppy's stare.

"Umbreon," said Growlie slowly, "Did your dad ever get you and your sister mixed up?" Umbreon was taken aback by the pure randomness of the question, and gave Growlie a strange look. He wasn't used to be asked questions in general, especially not ones about his family. However, he now realized that if you told a puppy something they would bring it up in their curious wondering. He briefly remembered telling Growlie about his life when pressed earlier that day. He hadn't been able to discover how Growlie had deemed it on himself to think about Umbreon's family anyways. Maybe Espeon had given the puppy a hint? He didn't really like the idea of Espeon telling the little dog something that he had told her in private, but he figured it was all right. She had never promised to keep anything secret.

"I mean," explained Growlie after realizing Umbreon wasn't going to answer, "You're called Umbreon, so that means your sister was called Umbreon, too, right? Didn't that get confusing?"

"He used to give her nicknames like "Umbri", or "Sweetheart", or something like that," complied Umbreon plainly.

"Oh…" said Growlie, still a bit confused.

Of course, Umbreon failed to mention that his dad had given him nicknames too. Two popular ones were "Midnight Boy", and "Moonlight ".

Doubtless to say, it was the other four that got some work done. Silver was scanning through books that sounded interesting, but not really reading them. Espeon was doing likewise. Now Danny, on the other hand, had already left planet earth and was in whichever world the books had taken him to. Maddy was glaring at the books, probably frustrated with them for not reading themselves aloud to her, but she didn't talk about it. Nobody did, really. The episode between Growlie and Umbreon was the only noise. After that, it was Maddy who broke next.

"This is pointless!" she said, dropping the book in her hand with an angry growl, "We don't even know what to look for! We could spend days down here!"

"Well, what exactly are we trying to do?" asked Silver, trying to make the subject clearer.

"We're looking for clues on what these are," said Danny, who had snapped back to reality at about Maddy's third sentence. He pointed to the stars on his oh-so-precious map, "And hints about Espeon's vision," he added as an afterthought.

"_And_ any information on why anyone would want to keep a Lugia captive in a highly important building," added Maddy snappily.

"That's new stuff," said Silver matter-of-factly, "I doubt we'll find anything that's happened in the past three centuries down here."

He was right; everyone knew that. They just didn't know what to say about it.

"Is there anywhere we could find something _current_?" asked Espeon tentatively.

"I don't have a computer," Silver shrugged.

"I bet Snagem does," said Maddy, a bit quickly for anyone to take in at once. Espeon and Danny were far from thrilled at the idea, but it didn't seem to bother Silver.

"We could infiltrate the Snagem base," he said casually, as if someone had just asked him if he'd like to come to their house next Friday. Nobody said anything, and the already eerie silence seemed even more awkward.

It was about them that Growlie and Umbreon decided to join the conversation.

"If it involves getting out of this pit, them I'm for it," said Umbreon.

"Uh, yeah!" Growlie chirped in even though he had no idea about what was going on.

That settled it, and they had left just in time for Growlie to scent a particularly smelly Houndour collapsed near the secret tunnel used for entering Agate, or Snagem Base, whichever you prefer to call it.

* * *

And here they are now, ready to go back there.

The sun was starting to set by the time they had reached Snagem Base, and it wasn't until they arrived that they realized something was wrong.

"Where is everybody?" asked Houndour, scanning the area. There was no one to be seen, and it was deathly quiet.

Everyone slowly walked around the site. It was as if Snagem had never been there; it had always been an old, abandoned city.

"There was a battle here," confirmed Umbreon, voicing aloud the thoughts of all the pokemon and confirming the fears of the humans.

"Weren't we going to find a database of some sort?" Maddy recovered from shock to aim back at their goal in the first place.

"Right…" said Silver, and then," Right!" more firmly.

He led them down the path where Umbreon had once gone to rescue Espeon and into the white walled building under the ground. Maddy, Growlie, and Danny quickly got used to it, being as they were the only ones who hadn't been there before.

"Here's one!" shouted Umbreon victoriously, poking his head into one of the many rooms.

It was an awfully big computer; one of those master computers that always seemed to be in laboratories, and this place very well could have been some type of laboratory.

"So…?" asked Maddy, urging Silver on.

"What do you mean me?" asked Silver, "You think _I _know how to work that thing?"

"Danny?" she asked, turning to the other boy.

"I guess I could try…" he said, walking up in front of the screen. It had a keyboard like any other computer. He put his fingers on top of the keys. The computer reared to life, making a low humming noise to signal.

"Alright…" he started, opening a few folders that were on the screen.

"Shouldn't it have a password or something?" asked Maddy. She had scarcely any experience with working machines.

"Maybe someone just left it on the desktop and went to get coffee or something," suggested Silver.

"Maybe," Maddy shrugged.

Danny open "Search" and decided to type in "Lugia", and "secret" as keywords. He hit the enter key.

"Do you think they know something about Lugia?" asked Maddy.

"Maybe," said Danny, not taking his eyes off of the computer screen. A second later, a million results came up for his search.

"Great…" mumbled Danny, "Well, somebody pick a file and we'll go from there."

"Just pick one!" snapped Maddy, and at the same time Silver pointed to a file on the center of the screen,

"How about that one?" he asked.

Danny clicked on it and read aloud:

"Lugia is a large silver and blue pokemon. It is incredibly rare and…"

"That's just its basic status!" said Maddy, "Next!"

And so it went on… It was, of course, when they were about to give up when they came across something of value.

"Project 98: We are to raid Sapphire City looking for a valuable that has gone astray…" Danny droned in a monotone voice, but then picked up speed as he went on, realizing that what he read actually held some importance, "There are confirmed rumors that they are holding the last Lugia captive…"

"They _do_ know Lugia's in Sapphire?" Maddy pressed.

"Yeah," answered Silver, even if the question was rhetorical, "and they're going to raid the city to get him."

"And we're going to stop them?" asked Umbreon quizzically.

"No!" said Maddy, "We're going to free Lugia so no one can have him!"

"So, we're going to Sapphire City?" asked Danny, as Maddy seemed to be taking charge of the whole situation.

"Yup," said Maddy, her eyes determined, "We're going to Sapphire City."

* * *

Regarding, the conversation with Growlie and Umbreon at the beginning of the chapter, little kids really are completely random. They'll bring up stuff about last Halloween the day before Christmas, I swear! 

And, as always, please review.


	19. Ditching Orre

Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon

(RE)EDITED

* * *

"We're going to need some supplies," suggested Maddy. 

"Speaking of provisions, how much are we going to need?" asked Danny, "We don't know how long we're going to be gone."

"We could look at a map," suggested Silver.

Danny shrugged and looked it up. To his surprise, a huge map of Orre filled the screen. A grid showing every square mile covered it. Orre wasn't that big, Danny concluded. There were several city locations on the map, and he spied one labeled "Hideout", as if the couldn't be any more obvious. He clicked on it and the camera, which was at an aerial view, zoomed in to show a digital version of Agate.

"Cool," said Umbreon, staring at the screen.

"That helps," said Silver, "Now how long would it take us to cover the distance from here to Sapphire City?" Danny clicked a few buttons and a scale showed up on the screen. He squinted, muttering something.

"It'll take us a couple of days to get to the outskirts of Orre on foot," he concluded, "We're going to need a faster mode of transportation." Everyone thought about that. Vehicles hadn't occurred to them at first because, for one, none of them could drive, but it seemed like a good idea. The bad thing was they didn't know where anything drivable was.

Umbreon fixed his unmoving gaze on Houndour. They stood there for a while until Houndour got uncomfortable.

"What?" he asked irritably.

"Well, you work here, don't you?" asked Umbreon, "Snagem _does _have vehicles, so where are they?"

Houndour was a bit taken back. He had been ordered as a Snagem operative to not give away any information revolving their technology and stuff like that, but now…

"Come on," he said. His loyalty wasn't to Team Snagem anymore. It was to Virus, and helping them would help her sooner.

* * *

Everyone was at a loss of words. Houndour had taken them down to a garage like place below the part of the Hideout Espeon had once been held captive. There was a large, black, jeep-like contraption there. 

"Nice going, Houndour," said Umbreon, impressed. There were also smaller vehicles meant for single person riding. At Umbreon's praise Houndour was unaffected, but he had been looking confused.

"That's strange," he stated, "There are usually a lot more…"

"That's probably proof that they left on a trip of some kind," said Espeon gently.

Houndour still didn't get it. Wouldn't there be notice of a total evacuation beforehand? It had all happened so fast…

"This'll work," said Silver, tapping the jeep's hull.

"Now how do we get it off this forsaken island?" Maddy wondered, speaking of the isolated Agate City.

"And who here knows how to drive?" asked Umbreon. This was a big question. No one here was even old enough to drive let alone in the position to take any sort of lesson.

"We could practice before we go," suggested Silver. No one really had a better idea.

"All right, Houndour," said Umbreon, "How does Snagem get these hunks of metal off of this place?"

"There's an underground passage," the words felt weird coming from Houndour's throat. He had never expected to be giving this information to Umbreon, of all the pokemon in the world, "Over there," he said, turning towards a direction and trotting to it. Umbreon followed.

"See?" said Houndour, strangely serious. He reached up and pressed a large red button on the wall. There was a tremendous cracking noise that made everyone jump, and the metal door began to open. It took a pretty long time.

Umbreon stood in the middle right in front of the passage. He stared down it for a while, and ceiling lights flickered on one by one down the row, revealing a huge passageway large enough for four of the jeeps squished in standard configuration.

"Sweet," was all he could say.

* * *

It was two hours later, and preparation for the trip was taking longer than everyone had thought it would. Danny had insisted on going to get a map that showed beyond the boundaries of Orre, and that had taken a while. Silver had also shown them where Snagem's food supply was, how to raid it, and where Snagem would try to hide it when they got fed up with him. That stage really annoyed Houndour.

But alas, here they were, finally getting their vehicles out of the seemingly endless tunnels. I say vehicles because other than the jeep, Silver had volunteered to go ahead on one of the motorcycle-resembling machines, which he had sort of figured out how to ride. Maddy wasn't having so much luck with the other.

"Slow down!" cried Umbreon, "You're almost there, but you can still crash!"

"I'm _trying_!" snapped Maddy.

"Are we dead yet?" muttered Houndour, eyes tightly shut.

"Now turn right," said Danny, "I said _right_."

"Will you just _shut up_?" glared Maddy.

"Are you guys _sure_ you want me to go ahead?" asked Silver, pulling up next to them.

"_Yes_, Silver, we're perfectly _fine_," said Maddy," Just _go_."

"Wait!" cried Umbreon, "Take me with you! Don't leave me with these psychos!"

Espeon sighed. This wasn't working out too well.

But, eventually, they made it to the forest on the outskirts of the Orre region.

* * *

Silver stared uneasily at the setting in front of him. This was farther from home than he'd ever been in his entire life. It wasn't the best feeling. When you grow up in the desert, a forest of total greenery and no sand can put you off. Even Agate couldn't compare to this. 

He supposed he should go back and tell the others he'd finally spotted the end of the Orre region. That was the whole point of scouting ahead. The sun was setting, so right on the edge of the forest was where camp would most likely be. Danny was right; the Orre region wasn't all that big, especially when you were driving through it. The trip had taken a little over twenty-four hours on wheels.

He turned around clumsily to go fetch them before it got too dark to see through the darkness of the helmets built-in sunglasses. Espeon had insisted on making him wear it, saying he'd fall of and crack his skull if he didn't. After that scary image, Growlie had followed pursuit and begged him as well, terrified by the thought.

His head started to droop when he reached them. Riding all day on a motorcycle took a toll.


	20. The Journey through the Forest

Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon

(RE)EDITED

* * *

The Orre region was basically a dessert. You didn't have to be a genius to know that. So, if you had spent most of your life there with basically no contact with any other regions, a forest would seem like a strange place. 

Sure, Silver had _read_ about forest. There wasn't really anything else to do except read and pester Team Snagem, which he and Umbreon basically only did when they needed to. So reading was one of Silver's main past times. However, there is a great difference between reading about something, and actually _being_ there. Agate was the closest thing to a forest he had ever seen, and even that couldn't compare.

For one, they, meaning him and Umbreon, were used to being able to see at least ten feet in front of them. The forest cut it off at five. They were used to being able to see _above_ them. That was practically impossible. And they were definitely not used to mud, roots, and branches.

Neither Maddy, Danny, Espeon, nor Growlie knew a whole lot about surviving in greenery either, but they knew a lot more about it than Silver or Umbreon. But truth be told, no one really enjoyed it and would much rather be home, wherever that happened to be for them. That is, everyone except Growlie, who was having the time of his life fetching sticks.

"Again!" Growlie barked, dropping the stick on Danny's lap along with some dog slobber. Danny absent-mindedly picked it up and threw it again, too preoccupied with the map in his hand to really pay attention.

The group had abandoned the vehicles at the edge of the forest, for they couldn't fit through the trees, so now they had to carry the supplies and walk on foot, which no one really _wanted_ to do, but they had to anyway.

"Put that thing away, Danny," snapped Maddy, "We are trying to survive getting to Sapphire. You can look at the stupid map when we get there."

"I'm looking to see if there are any stars in the forest," replied Danny stubbornly. This seemed to interest Silver, who walked over to join the other boy. Maddy slowly counted to ten…

Meanwhile, Growlie returned stickless looking distressed.

"The stupid thing stole Growlie's stick!" he whined.

"What stupid thing, Growlie?" Espeon asked, concerned.

"The stupid thing!' Growlie insisted, leading Espeon to a tree and pointing with one paw at the hollow area under it. A zigzagoon pointed his face curiously out of the hole, sniffing the air.

"Give Growlie his stick back!" The puppy snarled, swiping at the zigzagoon with his paw.

"Now Growlie," Espeon insisted on playing the mother role, "Let's ask _nicely_, shall we?"

"What going on?" asked Umbreon, striding over to join them.

"_The stupid thing stole Growlie's stick!"_ the little dog seemed to be getting very upset.

"Um, hello?" Espeon asked, leaning down into the hollow, "Can we please have Growlie's stick back?"

"_Growlie wants his stick!"_ screamed the puppy, now started to whine and cry pitifully. Espeon looked hopeless. Now Umbreon gave it a try.

"What about finding a new stick, Growlie?" he suggested.

"But Growlie wants_that_ one!" Growlie whimpered, snuffling from his outburst. At this point, the little zigzagoon poked his head out of his hole again with a familiar brown object in his mouth. He scurried out and dropped Growlie's stick in front of him, and then quickly went back inside. Growlie was speechless.

"See, Growlie?" scolded Espeon, "What do you say?"

"Sorry,' muttered Growlie, and then he put his head in the tree and said louder, "Growlie's sorry!"

And that was about the most interesting thing that happened on the trip to Sapphire. Well, one interesting thing, anyway. Others included the time when a nest of beedrill ticked Maddy off, and another was when Umbreon drew all over Houndour's face with Oran berry juice while he was sleeping, but you don't want to hear about that, now do you?

Finally they were at the outskirts of Sapphire. They were near the end of the forest that surrounded the city when Danny stopped.

"You guys do realize that Maddy, Espeon, and I can't go in there, right?" he asked, his face serious. Maddy simply nodded, and Espeon connected the dots, but Silver looked confused.

"Why not?" he asked, "And you can't expect me to go in there by _myself_."

"You have to," explained Maddy, "We're probably on the most wanted list, and Espeon will immediately be recognized and she'll be taken back to that horrible lab to be used like a tool again."

"What about Growlie?" the puppy asked. He was ignored for the moment.

"But I've never been outside of Orre my entire life!" Silver was beginning to sound whiny, "I don't know how I'm supposed to act in the city! What am I supposed to wear? I don't know how to talk to people!"

"You don't seem to have any problems talking to us," muttered Maddy, but this didn't affect Silver.

"I am _not _going in there alone," he said finally.

"You won't be alone," Danny said simply, "Umbreon and Growlie will be with you."

The two pokemon were suddenly the center of attention. Umbreon shrugged.

"It can't be worse than falling down into a gigantic hole into an underground library," he said. Silver looked defeated after Maddy translated, and Growlie looked eagerly around.

"Come one, come on!" he shouted, "I'll show you the way!"

"Exactly what am I supposed to _do_ once I get there?" asked Silver.

"You're going to find the building where Lugia is being held. Growlie will show you the way," replied Danny.

"And I'm supposed to stop Snagem all alone," sighed Silver," While you just sit here doing nothing."

"We'll figure something out," said Danny with a smile. And with that, Silver, Umbreon, and Growlie left.

"Hey!" cried Maddy, "Where's Houndour?" Sure enough, the dog pokemon was gone.

"He probably ran off somewhere. He never said he wanted to help. He probably won't come back," said Danny practically.

"Good riddance," said Maddy. Espeon, however, was a little disheartened. Houndour didn't know how to survive on his own, or so she thought, anyway. What was he going to do? Maybe he'd start a new life. That would be nice. He was the type that needed a second chance. She wandered curiously around the area in case he hadn't gone far and was just hiding in misery or something.

"Looking for something?" came a familiar, lighthearted voice. Espeon nearly had a heart attack. Her head whipped around.

"Suicune!" she cried in surprise. Then she glanced around to see if Maddy or Danny had heard. Apparently they hadn't, but she kept her voice low, "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you," said Suicune casually, "And it took some effort at that. No wonder you guys haven't been caught yet!" Espeon couldn't do anything but stare. Suicune, the huge, blue North Wind, was standing in front of her. In real life. This wasn't a dream, she was sure. He seemed a little different now. He didn't seem to shine as he did in her dreams, and he seemed _fuller_ somehow. It was like an artist had added some shading to go along with the basic colors. He now seemed like an actual creature and not an illusion. It was like he was a fellow mortal, now. But he couldn't just be here for a friendly chat.

"What do you want?" she asked softly.

"Well, you're finally here, aren't you?" said Suicune, "It's time to save the leader of the pokemon!"

* * *

Okay, so I lied. Updates didn't speed up. Blame the apparently unnamed forest, okay? I couldn't decide what to do with it. 

So now Silver, Umbreon, and Growlie are going to the city. Oh, the fun I shall have…


	21. Adjusting to the Environment

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon

(RE)EDITED

* * *

Umbreon glared impatiently around the corner at Silver, who was once again distracted by one of the many signs, buildings, and other distracting gunk that everyone had decided to pile into the smelly, concrete, walled-in space. Or so that was Umbreon's opinion. He much preferred the open space of the desert. 

"Pick up the pace…" he muttered, keeping his voice low in fear of being discovered. Powerful, evolved pokemon were common in the police force, but normal people usually had low-leveled, nearly harmless pokemon, and never were people seen to have_ two_. Or at least Growlie had never seen two pokemon with one person. And Umbreon didn't fit the picture of low-leveled and obedient, which was why he and Growlie were slipping along quietly after the confused looking human.

Now, Umbreon didn't think Silver was helpless for a second. He knew for a fact that Silver could survive a good while in the most extreme territory all alone. Umbreon didn't doubt he could make a living off of a few sticks and a spear, however, that was just the point.

Silver could survive _alone_, not with other people. The boy's social skills were at a total lack. Not that Umbreon could say much, but he knew a lot more than Mr. Survives-on-his-own.

"Umbreon!"

The black pokemon's head whipped around.

"Growlie!" he snapped in a harsh whisper, "Shhh!"

"Oh," said the puppy softly, and then his face brightened, "Umbreon, look what Growlie can do!"

The puppy stepped back a bit and picked up the stick in front of him. (Umbreon had no idea where he'd gotten it. Probably on the ground somewhere.) He then dropped into a crouching position, and snapped up, letting go of the stick and letting it fly into the air. Not pausing for a second, the puppy did a back flip. He jumped backwards into the sky, caught the stick in midair, and landed with a yelp right on his nose. Umbreon's eyes widened in alarm. He jumped up and ran to Growlie's side.

"Are you okay?" he asked immediately. Growlie slowly got up from his awkward position with a sniffle. Umbreon wondered if he was going to cry.

"Well," said Growlie, "I did it just a minute ago," he lifted his head up and wiped his nose with his paw, trying to give Umbreon a smile. The other pokemon relaxed, his shoulders sagging with relief.

"Let's wait a bit before we try that one again, okay?" Umbreon said gently.

"Okay," said Growlie soberly.

"Okay," said Umbreon cheerfully, and then a realization hit him.

"Growlie, did you just refer to yourself as "I"?"

Growlie didn't get a chance to answer as a loud crashing noise erupted from behind them. The duo turned to look.

Houndour stood shaking himself off as he squeezed out from under the trashcan that had just fallen on top of him. He looked up at Umbreon and Growlie and shrugged.

"All right," said Umbreon after a particularly long pause, "Spit it out. Why were you following us?"

Houndour growled and glared at the ground in front of him, refusing to answer.

"Well?" asked Umbreon.

"I'm looking for Virus," Houndour muttered, not looking Umbreon in the eye.

"Virus is in Sapphire?" asked Umbreon quizzically.

"Yes," said Houndour firmly.

"Who told you that?"

"Someone," said Houndour after a long hesitation.

"What makes you think following us would lead you to her?" Umbreon waited expectantly for an answer, but Houndour gave none.

"I didn't have anywhere else to go," he admitted after a while.

"You could've just, you know, asked to come along."

"Well…" the burly dog pokemon started, "How do you know I'm not some Snagem spy?" Umbreon shrugged.

"You're not that smart," Umbreon told him dismissively.

"Why do you always make fun of me?" Houndour burst out.

"Relax, geez, it's just a joke," said Umbreon, "I didn't know you took me _that _seriously."

"Umbreon," said Growlie, interrupting Houndour before he could say anything, "Where's Silver?" Umbreon was silent for a moment.

"Oh," he said, turning around and bolting towards his previous position. When he checked the spot where Silver had been, the boy was long gone.

"Darn it anyway. Where'd he go?" mumbled Umbreon.

* * *

"You do realize that sitting here doing nothing is beyond pointless, right?" asked Maddy. 

"Yup," said Danny, pulling up some strands of grass and tearing them apart.

"Then why are we here?"

"Because we'll be even worse than worse than useless in custody," replied Danny coolly. He then pulled out his map, bored enough to stare at its already memorized star locations. Maddy walked up and peered over his shoulder. She noted how close they were to their first encounter place with Team Snagem.

"Think they're still there?" she asked, pointing out its location. Danny shrugged.

"I wonder where they all went to," he said, and his eyes seemed to drift away.

"Do you think something bad happened to them?" he asked.

"Don't know," answered Maddy, "So you wanna go see what else was in that hole?"

"Of course."

"Then let's go."

"And to think," said Danny, standing up and brushing himself off, "Only a couple days ago I practically had to drag you down there."

"What?" asked Maddy defensively, "Is your memory failing? You almost _dropped_ me, you dunce."

"No," corrected Danny, "You fell in and I _caught_ you. I saved your life!"

"Yeah, and then you could've killed me by letting Espeon lower me down. Gee, thanks," Said Maddy with a smirk on her face. By now, the two had already realized Espeon was missing, and had been searching for her earlier. However, there were no fruits of their labor. They had momentarily forgotten about the search when they sat down for a rest, and were again reminded of it.

"You think she went there?" asked Maddy.

"Possibly," said Danny, turning in the direction of the hidden laboratory.

"Allrighty then," declared Maddy, marching forward, determined to actually _get _somewhere. She snatched Danny's arm as she passed him.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" shouted Danny, trying to pull his arm free.

"Of course you are," said Maddy smugly, refusing to let go.


	22. Destruction and Team Rocket

(RE)EDITED

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon

* * *

"We're here!" declared Growlie as he and Umbreon rounded another corner. Umbreon blinked. He had been sure they had passed this exact corner a few minutes ago. They all looked the same to him. The huge building in front of him, however, did not look the same as the others. It towered high above them all, a definite skyscraper. 

"No Silver," said Growlie with a groan, and sure enough, the boy was nowhere to be seen. The two had decided to not look for him, since he would be impossible to find in this mess. They had continued on, hoping Silver would find his own way, maybe having the sense to ask for directions or something. Umbreon had had his (many) doubts, and now they were confirmed. He wasn't here.

"Now what?" ask Growlie, sitting down on the sidewalk and lifting a leg to scratch one of his perky ears.

"We bust in there," said Umbreon, trying to sound confident and failing. He couldn't help but feel a little guilty about losing Silver. He had always been a sort of guardian for the boy. Umbreon expected a lot more of himself than Silver, who was, at the least, a bit absent-minded sometimes.

"Are we going through the air vents?" asked Growlie excitedly.

"That, my dear friend, is a classic," said Umbreon, his old self returning to the surface, "Sure we can go through the air vents!" And then a flash of purple caught his eye.

"Espeon?" And then he took off running with Growlie at his heels.

* * *

"I have to hand it to you, Maddy, rope does come in handy," admitted Danny as his feet landing on the ground of the underground science-lab-looking place. 

"Rope has over a thousand and one uses," Maddy quoted practically, but Danny wasn't listening.

"That wasn't here earlier," he said, pointing at a perfect rectangular shape etched into the wall. The door, for that's what it was, was wide open, revealing a cavern that led into darkness.

"No, it wasn't," agreed Maddy.

"We're going through there, right?" asked Danny hopefully.

"Of course."

* * *

"Is it really smart to make that big of an entrance?" asked Espeon, panting. She didn't know how she had managed to run that fast, but she was sure it couldn't be her own power. How could it be? 

"I just thought I'd let them know who's responsible," said Suicune mischievously. Espeon wondered why he sounded like that, but before she could voice her suspicions, Suicune was off again and she was running after him down the hallway.

By the time they got to Lugia's room, alarms were blaring and Espeon knew everyone was looking for them. She thought warily back to the Houndoom of her previous escapade.

Lugia was waiting for them. He was the same cage Maddy and Danny had seen him in at the beginning of this whole adventurem fast asleep. _He seems so peaceful,_ Espeon thought to herself. She would have never thought of him as a war leader.

"Calm and peaceful," said Suicune with a shrug, "I wonder what you're thinking about him, Espeon, on this first impression. This position really completely betrays his personality." Espeon respected Suicune's frankness in his opinion, but she thought that, for once, it would be nice if he kept his thoughts to himself.

"If you don't like him that much," she asked freely, "Then why are you trying to rescue him?" Suicune smiled sadly.

"It's a long story, but the old bird's done a lot for me," he told her.

Espeon gasped and whipped around as uniformed figures burst into the room. They knocked down the doors, leaving the corridor outside exposed, and aimed their weapons at Suicune and Espeon. Besides the pure terror running through her, Espeon had control of enough brain cells to wonder why the guards had changed their uniforms. They were all wearing black with white gloves instead of white with black ones, and a big red R was printed in the middle of their shirts. What was that supposed to stand for? But there was no time for that now! Any moment they were going to… catch on fire? Espeon blinked, not trusting her eyes, but sure enough, the soldiers at the end of the line were indeed in flames. They had just seemed to realize they were on fire. A few panicked and ran around in circles while a few others had enough sense to stop, drop, and roll. Everyone seemed momentarily distracted.

"_Hello," _said an annoyed, but familiar voice behind her. She turned and spotted him jumping through the crowd of humans.

"Umbreon!" she shouted joyfully, running over to him in full bounds.

"You know, Espeon," said Umbreon, "When someone distracts the guards for you, you're supposed to _run_. It's like in the basic, need-to-know rules of breaking-and-entering…" Espeon wasn't really listening. She was too busy being happy to see him.

"Big bird," said Growlie in wonder, staring at Lugia in disbelief. Espeon blinked. She hadn't seen the puppy following Umbreon.

"Yeah," agreed Umbreon, turning to look.

By this time the soldiers were done putting out the flames and were ready to fight. Espeon, Umbreon, and Growlie turned to face them, just as prepared, but something was wrong.

"Hey," said Espeon, "Where's Suicune?"

"Who?" asked Umbreon.

"Never mind," answered Espeon. She'd explain later.

"All right then," said Umbreon, taking a battle stance, "Let's disrespect authority!" And he charged, teeth bared.

Someone fired at Umbreon as he ran towards than, but the pokemon ducked low to the floor into a slide and skidded straight into the person's legs, knocking him over, and that was all it took to get the battle started. It was three against twenty, but none of the pokemon that were fighting seemed to have taken that into consideration. None of them were expert fighters, heck, Umbreon was the only one who had had any real training, but fire-breathing and mind-controlling had their advantages. Soon there were no groups, but a mob of living creatures and noise all around. The alarms were still blaring, and everyone seemed to be shouting…

And then the alarms just shut off. Everyone else seemed to shut off as well because suddenly the room was frozen.

Then a soft melody started to play through the speakers…


	23. Learning Lugia's Song

Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon

(RE)EDITED

* * *

Traveling through the dark hallway was a short and, besides maybe getting a few bruises, boring experience. The _really_ interesting thing that Danny and Maddy found was in the cavern at the end of it. 

"What is this place?" asked Maddy, stepping out the the narrow passageway and into the big open space. Since all light from the world above had vanished and they were finally out of the cramped tunnel, she dug out a flashlight from her pack and waved the light around the edges of the room. It was basically small and dark with rock walls. It kind of reminded her of the hidden library in Orre.

"I'm not sure, but," Danny paused here to pull himself the rest of the way out of the tunnel, "either we didn't see it here earlier, which is likely because we could barely see then anyway, or there's the chance that it was hidden until someone opened it."

"Why would someone wait until now to open it?" asked Maddy.

"Maybe someone wanted us to find it," Danny put in.

"And maybe the world doesn't revolve around you, " Maddy replied, rolling her eyes, but it was in a playful manner.

"So, if someone _wanted_ us to find something," she said, "They'd make it easy to find, right?" she pointed her flashlight at the center of the room where, on the ground, there was a shallow bowl of crystal clear blue water. She thought that seemed odd, do to the fact that they were underground.

"Easy enough," Danny pointed out.

"A bowl of water," Maddy shrugged, "Why would someone want us to find a bowl of water? We could've gotten that anywhere." Danny walked over to the object of interest, looked into it, and smiled.

"I think they wanted us to find what's _in_ the bowl of water," he declared, showing her what he had found.

"What is it?" asked Maddy, squinting.

"I think it's some type of musical instrument," said Danny turning the small object over in his hands, "And instructions on how to play it."

"Looks like someone thought of everything," Maddy said sardonically. Then she walked over to look.

The instrument looked something like an ocarina with maybe a few changes. It was colored with oranges and reds. It was small enough to fit in Danny's hands, but just barely.

"What do you think "they" wanted us to do with it?" asked Maddy.

"Play it, I guess," shrugged Danny, "I think this song." He handed Maddy a single piece of sheet music, and even she couldn't deny that it was too much of a coincidence,

"Lugia's Song," she read out loud. Danny already knew what the song was called, so he wasn't listening. He was already putting his fingers in the positions the instructions said he was supposed to. He tried blowing into it. Sound came out, though it was unsteady and Danny had to work at it for a while. Maddy just stared.

"What?" Danny asked, "I played the flute for a couple of months. I was never very good at it, but…"

"How long do you think it'll take you to learn this?" asked Maddy.

"It's not the notes I'll have a problem with: I can read them just fine and moving my fingers isn't hard. It's really getting used to the instrument that takes a long time. You know, how hard to blow, holding it right…"

"I have no idea what you're saying, Danny," said Maddy, "Can you just give me an estimate?"

"It took me a few days to start to get that stuff right on the flute," shrugged Danny.

"Start learning," Maddy shoved the instructions towards him.

After what felt like a couple of hours to Maddy but was probably only a few minutes in real life, Maddy was getting impatient.

"Have you gotten used to it yet?' she snapped.

"Sort of…"

"Well, start learning this!" Maddy handed him the Lugia's Song sheet. Danny looked at it, and then played the three notes _very_ slowly.

"What are we supposed to do after you learn this anyway?" she asked.

"We could try playing it to Lugia," suggested Danny, ignoring Maddy's attitude.

"How are we supposed to do that?" asked Maddy, "We're wanted, remember?" Danny thought for a moment.

"Let's go back up," he said.

* * *

"So let me get this straight," said the tired-looking man in front of Silver. His name was Mr. Harrison, he had said. 

"You're name is 'The Furrier'?"

"That would be correct," answered Silver.

"And you want me to point you in the direction of the 'really big and important building'?"

"Ahuh."

"And you want me to direct you there because you and your ringmaster agreed along with the rest of your circus to meet there if you got lost?"

"Yeah."

Mr. Harrison found it hard to comprehend that this boy actually had no idea that what he was saying was completely ridiculous and unbelievable.

"Look, kid, I don't _want_ to know what you're really up to, but there are hundreds of buildings that fit that description. You need to give me a more specific description."

"Huh," the boy looked stumped for a moment, and then his expression brightened.

"This one used to have an Espeon!" he declared. Mr. Harrison's eyes widened.

"_That _place?" he asked, "I work there."

"Well then, don't you know where it is?"

"Of course," Mr. Harrison stated, still bewildered by this kid.

"Then where is it?"

"Look," said the businessman, giving Silver a stern look, but then his phone rang. His jaw dropped as he heard the person on the other end of the line. He snapped it closed and gave Silver a suspicious look.

"What?" asked Silver.

"There's been an accident. No one's allowed inside that building."

* * *

Maddy and Danny were in for a surprise when they found Silver alone in the park when they returned to the surface. He was also surprised to see them come out of the mysterious hole in the ground he had noticed. 

"What are you doing here?" asked Maddy, "I thought you were with Growlie and Umbreon?"

"Yeah, that's a long story," Silver said, not wanting to admit that he had gotten lost.

"You left those two _alone_?" Maddy screeched, "I'm surprised half the city isn't in flames by now!" Silver vaguely remembered Mr. Harrison's words.

"Wait, no, this is good!" exclaimed Danny. Silver and Maddy gave him puzzled looks.

"We need a thief," Danny explained, "We need a thief who can get inside one of the rooms that controls what goes into the speakers in Lugia's room. That's how we'll play him the song!"

Maddy and Silver were beginning to make sense of this plan.

"Okay," said Silver, "Where're these control rooms?"

"Not rooms, exactly," said Danny, "But that's a police building dedicated to catching criminals. Everyone knows that any officer can contact the building's speakers through their cars."

"So we're going to hijack a police car?" asked Maddy.

"No, you and Silver going to find an empty one and contact Lugia's building," said Danny, "You're going to come and get me when you're done. I'll be learning how to play this," he showed them his instrument.

"It's close enough to hijacking," said Maddy.

* * *

Finding an empty police car was easy enough. There were plenty of them everywhere, and Danny could almost get through Lugia's song (very slowly), but it would have to do. 

"All police cars have alarms, right?" asked Silver.

"Yes," said Maddy, "So Danny, you might want to play your song faster because you don't have much time."

"I'll try," shrugged Danny.

And then the car alarm was blaring, but all that the people in Lugia's room seemed to hear was Lugia's Song, even if it was being played rather slowly.


	24. Lugia's Grand Exit

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon

(RE)EDITED

* * *

It was as if the song had cast a spell over everyone in the room. Nobody moved or spoke, and the song just kept playing. No one seemed to know why it was happening, but it wasn't like they could stop it. 

"Umbreon! Espeon!" Growlie's eyes were wide and he was staring directly at Lugia. Espeon and Umbroen turned to look. At first they didn't notice anything, but then they saw what Growlie meant: the bird pokemon's eyes were open a crack, if just a crack.

Lugia was waking up.

Finally, near the end of the song, the spell seemed to wear off. All of the Rocket members were talking into their radios at once and a few seemed to remember that they were supposed to be catching the other three pokemon in the room. The music was being drowned out…

And then Lugia did wake up.

It happened suddenly: one moment he was barely opening his eyes and the next he seemed to snap awake. His eyes widened and his muscles tensed. And then his whole body jerked out like a rubber band that had been pulled so hard it snapped, and his wings broke through his prison. A tremendous crashing noise echoed off the walls as the steel top of the cage, no longer being supported by the bars, fell on top of Lugia. He let out a loud screech and shook it off. Everyone froze again, not in a spell-like way but this time in fear. The pokemon warlord scanned the crowd intensely, as if searching for something. His eyes locked on Espeon. He sceeched again and shot and aeroblast around the room.

Everything went to chaos. Walls fell, containers broke, people were blown backwards onto each other into heaps. Umbreon grabbed Growlie by the scruff of his neck so he wouldn't lose him and was blown against the wall like a toothpick.

"Espeon!" he called out, but his voice was lost in the blast of wind.

It was probably over in a couple of seconds. Umbreon, who had been glued against a high wall by the force of the attack, fell to the ground. The music had stopped, as the speakers had been blown clear off the wall. Team Rocket members were scattered around the floor, most of them unconscious. Sunlight flickered down on everything because the roof had been blown clear off the top of the building. It had fallen back down into the room, but was at a slanted angle on the opposite side. Umbreon blinked as he shook himself off. He hadn't known they were on the top floor. Growlie whimpered next to him and stood up.

"Ouchies," said the puppy.

"You okay?" asked Umbreon.

"No broken bones," said Growlie.

"Good."

"Lugia's gone," Growlie stated blankly.

"Yeah," Umbreon said quietly, "he is."

"I don't see Espeon," said Growlie, worried. Umbreon scanned the area anxiously looking for a spot of purple amongst the black and red.

"Espeon?" he called out. Nobody answered.

* * *

Maddy, Danny, and Silver had been expecting the cops to show up at least two minutes after they set off the car alarm, but for some reason they didn't. It didn't take them long to figure out why. Every cop in the city, probably along with every citizen, was making his or her way over to the building where Lugia had been kept. About ten seconds ago the building's roof had been blown at least twenty feet into the air before crashing back down on top of it. In the moments between the roof going up and then going back down, no other than Lugia himself had flown up and out of the building and had shot away from the city. 

"So that's Lugia," muttered Silver, gaping.

"Espeon," said Danny.

"No, Silver's right," protested Maddy, confused, "That's Lugia."

"I know _that's_ Lugia!" snapped Danny, "But look, in his talons!" Sure enough, a lavender speck could be made out. Lugia was carrying Espeon away!

"You have good eyesight," commented Silver.

"We have to do something!" exclaimed Maddy.

"What?" asked Danny. Maddy glared at him.

"I don't know, something!" she snapped, "Just so we can say we made an attempt to save our friend from being kidnapped!"

However, neither of the came up with any ideas, and before long Lugia had disappeared.

"Uh, how about we go find Growlie and Umbreon?" suggested Silver hesitantly. He gently put his hand on Maddy's shoulder and directed her towards the city, aiming for the building where Lugia had once been held captive. After all, that was most likely where Umbreon and Growlie were. Maddy didn't stop glaring until she finally turned around. Danny followed them silently.


	25. Epilogue: We're Going on an Adventure!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.

(RE)EDITED

* * *

Growlie and Umbreon met up with Maddy, Danny, and Silver right outside the forest. Both Growlie and Umbreon looked crestfallen about their failed search for Espeon, and the three humans weren't exactly in the best of spirits. Except for maybe Silver, who didn't really let things get to him. 

"We couldn't find her…" muttered Umbreon, but his spirits rose slightly when he was told about how Lugia had carried her off.

"So now we're going to find them, right?" he asked. Normally, he was an easygoing kind of guy, but for some strange reason he was oddly upset about losing Espeon and just felt angry. Growlie seemed confused.

"Why wouldn't we go find Espeon?" he asked.

"We _are_ Growlie," Maddy told him, "We just have to think about this first. Anyone got any ideas?"

"So we're going to find Espeon?" Growlie asked hopefully.

"Yup," said Umbreon, "We're going to find Espeon."

'Yay!" shouted Growlie, happy again. Then he jumped up and started prancing around in circles chanting in a sing-song voice:

"We're going on an adventure! We're going on an adventure!"

"Sorry, I'm out of advice," Silver shrugged, looking at Maddy.

"We're going to need a way to travel faster," said Danny slowly, "And we're going to have to form a destination of some sort. Can anyone estimate where you think Lugia's headed?"

"He's probably going back to the pokemon territory," confirmed Silver, "After all, he is their leader."

"And we can use the Snagem vehicles we used earlier to get around," said Umbreon with a nod.

"So…" started Maddy, "We're going to find Espeon?"

"No!" said Growlie, rolling his eyes as if annoyed by Maddy's stupidity, "We're going on an_ adventure_!"

* * *

Thanks a ton to those of you who've read through this until the end. You guys are great!

Until TIME Chronicles number two, later.


End file.
